Traveling the Miles
by Lux-Nero
Summary: You ever been forced to do something you didn't want to do? Welcome to Miles's life! Forced from his new home, Miles trecks across the Saora region...but evil teams, a flock of murderous Bird Pokemon, and hothead for a companion... will he survive?
1. Chapter 1

A New Adventure

**Vyser D:** Don't own it.

Update: 4 / 5 / 08: Reformatted chapter.

**Traveling the Miles**

**A Pokemon Fanfiction **

**By **

**Vyser Dragoon **

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**...what the? What in the world is this supposed to be?**_

_**Huh? Talk about myself? What's the point in that?**_

_**Well, I guess I could, to start off I'm just a young man trying to get through school, having average grades…**_

…_**a couple of average friends…**_

…_**and toss in a love of soccer, and you've got me pegged.**_

_**Or you would've, until my father's job uprooted my life. All my friends, my school…all of it gone. **_

_**And here I find myself in a new region of the world, one of the more boring areas on this rock we call Earth…**_

…_**but…somehow, and I don't know why…but I've got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach…**_

…_**I don't know what it is…however; I just know that I'm not going to like it at all…**_

_**Oh! I just realized this, but I never introduced myself, the name's…**_

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Chapter 1**

**Enter in a New Region**

**/-/-/--/-/-/-/-/-/**

With the evening sun began to creep down upon the large grassy plain, two large moving vans to roam across the plains, many birds chirping over the metallic vehicles. The roads were jagged, causing the vans to bounce somewhat a few times...

Now, normally this wouldn't be a problem…normally, this would be a calm sight…normally this would be a chance to interact with the people driving the trucks…

…unless you were in the back of the moving vans with the furniture.

BOOM!

"ACK!"

With his head popping out from underneath a pile of boxes and manga, the young man took a deep breath before lowering his head to allow his slightly messy brown hair to shadow over his eyes. "You should ride in the back of the truck son…it'll be fun, son…it'll get your mind off of us moving, son…heh…last time I'll listen to dad…"

Freeing himself of the pile, the young man began dusting off his the white denim vest he had over his jet-black shirt. Because of the boxes, his worn out jeans were ripped underneath his right knee. "Dang it! These jeans were my favorite! Dang it dad!"

With a loud screech of the van's tires, the young man lost his footing causing him to slip backwards with another loud crash. "NOT AGAIN!"

A few minutes later…

"Miles? We're here son!" A strong, older voice laughed as the door to the back of the moving van, letting the little bit of light that was left of the day to pour into the back of the van. "Oh…are you okay?"

"Yeah…" The young man named Miles moaned, keeping his balance on the large messy pile while trying not to fall on his head. "…I just love being upside down dad."

"Well, that's good," Miles's father chuckled pushing up his glasses with a large smile on his hardened face.

In this light, Miles couldn't see his father clearly, and being upside down didn't help either, although, falling to the ground, Miles immediately sat up rubbing the back of his head with a loud sigh. "Tell me again how I managed to talk you into letting me ride with the furniture?"

"Heh, I don't know son," Miles's Father answered rubbing his three haired chin a few times while walking backwards to allow the gray muscular Pokemon (otherwise known as Machoke) to enter the back of the van and pull out a few seconds later lifting up a bunch of boxes. "But…come now! Take a look at our new house!"

With a slight groan, Miles immediately hopped out of the back of the moving van, seeing the two storied house with a light blue paint job to it. To be honest, the building looked rather new but, the style made the building look like it was made in Kanto or Johto. Miles couldn't help but blink a few times at the sight of the house. "Uh, dad, no offense, but aren't we in Saora? The land known for technology?"

"You've been doing your homework son," Miles's dad chuckled crouching down to lift up a small black and gray wolf like pokemon that began to bark slightly, known as a Poochyena. "Look, even Luna likes it…"

"I get that dad…but, shouldn't our house be a bit…" Miles turned towards his dad, gesturing towards the house that had the Machoke pokemon bringing in furniture. "…more updated for the future?"

"You forget," Miles's dad chuckled wagging his finger as the Poochyena known as Luna wagged its paw in a similar fashion. "We moved into Serene Town…a quiet portion of the Saora region. You'd have to go to Burgundy Town…after you head past Temp Town…"

"Okay! Okay! I get the idea," Miles sighed lowering his head. Sometimes he hated the fact that his dad would get too detailed in his explanations.

"Oh…okay," Miles's dad said blinking a few times at his son's behavior.

"Um, not to be rude," Miles coughed covering his face with his hands. "But, what's that smell?"

"Hmm…looks like you're still a big city kid, son," Miles's father laughed placing Luna on the ground to run around, trying to get used to the new lawn that was laid out in front of the house. "This is fresh air! Take a big whiff of it my son and enjoy the fruits of nature!"

"…this won't be good…" Miles sighed lowering his head as his father stepped behind him, placing a hand on Miles's shoulder.

"Son…look, I know that this is a big change," Miles's father sighed lowering his head slightly tightening his grip. "Moving from Honen to Saora, what with me getting this new job and all, it can be tough. So, I just want to let you know that I'm sorry that you had to leave everything behind…"

Yeah, that's the way to cheer up your kid…

"…whatever, since we're going to be here a while before you job requires you to move again…I'm going to check out the town," Miles sighed stretching his arms into the air before walking away from his dad. "See ya in a little."

"Don't be a stranger son!" Miles's dad announced to his son before he disappeared into the distance.

"Arf! Arf!" Luna barked rubbing up against her master's leg.

Smiling down at Luna, Miles's father began petting the small pup as it yelp a little bit. "…yeah…I know it's a big change but hey, I know Miles will get used to it…eventually…"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_**Time: 7:28 p.m.**_

_**Location: Serene Town,**_

_**Main Park**_

With a small bottle of orange soda in his hand, Miles continued his journey through the small town of Serene. Actually, the town was bigger when one got a better look at the many places in the town.

An arcade, a small shopping center (which is where Miles got the orange soda), and even a Pokemon Lab…of course, Miles already knew that facility was here. His dad was joining the ranks of the Saora Pokemon Science league, studying up on how the pokemon in this country reacted to this region's environment.

Walking through the town's large park, Miles had noted that the park had many trees and even had lake in the middle of the park. This was probably why the town had that fresh air smell that Miles couldn't get used to.

The sky was beginning to reach twilight as Miles walked through the park, slowly taking a few sips of his orange soda. From what he could tell, there were plenty of people walking around the park area; it was a warm night after all…

…a majority of them being couples…some things never changed, no matter where one would go in this vast world. The park that Miles usually hanged out with his group of friends was also filled with young high school lovers… 

"I guess…this town's not so bad," Miles admitted crossing his arms as he drank some more of his orange soda. '_The smell leaves something to be desired…'_

"Phoenix! Ember!"

"Sealth! Dodge it with Quick Attack, and counter with Pound!"

"Hmm?" Miles questioned turning to the side only to see an orange and yellow blur flying at his face. "URGH!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Kurai! Look what you did!"

"…his fault for standing there…"

"Why do you have to be so mean?"

"…do you have to ask so much Valerie? It's annoying…"

"Hmph!"

"Anyway…who is this guy?"

Slowly opening his eyes, Miles's vision slowly came back to him as he was met with two faces looking down at him. Looking at both of them, Miles slowly sat up, rubbing his face. "My nose…what happened?"

"Oh! You're awake!" One of the persons exclaimed making Miles look up to see who was talking to him.

Standing to the right of his vision was a girl who looked to be around his age, only a few inches shorter than he was. And although his head was pounding, Miles was still able get at the girl.

The slight early evening breeze blew the petite girl's long brown hair braided into many locks, along with a few blond high lights. Although her hair was covered with a red hat that had a flame design around the base of it to keep her locks in line, and she was dressed in a red short sleeved jacket with a black T-shirt underneath, and khaki shorts.

And in her arms was a small orange bird that had a few yellow feathers that chirped a few times…

'_A Torchic?_'

"Sorry about that," The braided haired girl giggled with a small red blush on her face as she knelt down to look Miles eye to eye…her Torchic did the same as well. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Miles gulped slowly standing up while rubbing the back of his head. "What happened exactly?"

"Well," The braided haired girl started with a small sweatdrop appearing on the side of her head.

"…you're just a casualty of war," A colder, yet boring voice answered, making Miles to turn to see a guy standing next to the girl, the guy looked to be slightly older than Miles, defined by his height…although, his hair definitely added a few inches.

His sharp, tanned face was topped with spiked back black hair that had many blue highlights streaming back; he even had two large stands of hair that stand up immediately like antennae with a sharp 'boing' sound. "What in the world are you looking at?"

The bug haired man's semi muscular body was covered a baggy denim jacket with the sleeves rolled up hanging over his white shirt that had a black angel wing imprint on it and he was wearing black jeans. "…are you deaf?"

Sitting on his shoulder was a small green gecko lizard that had large yellow eyes and a large leaf like tail that seemed to wrap itself around the young man's neck. Miles blinked a few times as the little green lizard yawned loudly. '_A Treecko?_'

"Kurai! Do you have to sound so cold?" The Braided haired girl huffed narrowing her eyes down at the weird haired young man named Kurai.

"…Valerie, it's the easiest way to explain this," Kurai explained wagging his finger as his Treecko did the same, only with his tail. "…besides, it was his own fault for not acting quickly enough…"

"Don't try to pin the blame on him," Valerie hissed as the Torchic chirped angrily at Kurai and his Treecko. "He didn't know we were having a battle!"

"…Not to interrupt this little argument," Miles interrupted raising his hand up to get both Valerie and Kurai's attentions. "But…where's my orange soda?"

"…oh that?" Kurai asked pointing downwards to show Miles's orange soda pouring down the ground.

"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!"

…that's what Miles wanted to shout into the air, but instead as he slumped his head down and sighed. "…that's a shame…"

"Oh wait a minute…" Kurai muttered crossing his arms. "…you must be the new guy who's moving in that old house near the entrance…saw the moving vans a while ago…"

"Uh? Yeah, I'm Miles Sabers; it's nice to meet…" Miles paused trying to remember when the two said their names.

Raising her hand up, Valerie allowed her Torchic to jump on top of her hat. "Valerie Sinclair! Welcome to Serene Town!"

"Thanks," Miles replied taking Valerie's hand for a short second before turning towards Kurai. "And you are…"

Scoffing his head to the side, Kurai's two hair antennae whipped slightly in the air. "Kurai…Kurai Stormwalt."

"So Miles how do you like Serene Town so far?" Valerie asked as her Torchic chirped happily.

"Well…" Miles had to think on that question for a few minutes…especially since he'd been hurt several times in the past few hours. "…it's been an interesting experience to say the least…and the air's hard to get used to…"

"The air?" Kurai questioned falling backwards to sit down on the ground.

"I used to live in a large city," Miles explained. "My guess would be that I'm used to the polluted air and not the fresh air here…"

"Really? Where are you from?" Valerie asked, slightly confused that Miles would be having a problem the fresh air.

"Ah, well, I've been moving for so long that I've forgotten where I'm originally from," Miles sighed shaking his head a little bit, smiling as he looked at the Torchic. "So…I take it that you're both trainers eh?"

"Well, kinda, we got our pokemon from Professor Pine a few weeks ago," Valerie replied scratching the Torchic's head, making it chirp loudly. "Meet Phoenix, my Torchic!"

"…oh, am I supposed to introduce my Treecko?" Kurai asked with a loud sigh while shaking his head while his Treecko did the same. "Fine…meet Sealth…"

"…that's a weird name," Miles admitted blinking a few times.

Then with a small chuckle, Kurai poked his forehead with his thumb with a small smile on his face. "Really? Well then…perhaps you could enlighten us as to what a proper name is. I don't suppose you have a pokemon…right?"

"Uh, well…" Miles was caught now, the only pokemon he had as Luna…and she was more like a family pet…besides, the Poochyena was caught by his father. "…I don't have any…"

"Heh…just what I thought," Kurai sighed in resolve shaking his head a few times as Sealth did the same.

"Kurai! Don't be mean to him!" Valerie protested as Phoenix chirped with her master.

"But hey! There should still be a Mudkip left…" Miles speculated as Valerie and Kurai sent each other wary looks. "I mean…it looks like you two got your pokemon from the Honen re…"

"Actually, Mudkip was taken first," Kurai answered pushing his hair antennae from out of his face. "You see, each year Serene town receives the original starter pokemon from the other regions. This year, it was from the Honen region, and Professor Pine's son was the first to grab a pokemon. In fact, he was the first to leave a few weeks ago…"

"Then why are you two still here?" Miles asked tilting his head to the side.

"Unfortunately, you see, Professor Pine's son also took the last Pokedex when he left," Valerie explained raising her fingers up in a peace sign. "But, tomorrow, Professor Pine's coming back tomorrow from a trip and he's going to give us both the new Pokedexs."

"Then shouldn't he have some starter pokemon?" Miles questioned rubbing his chin.

"Actually, no, you see, we only receive the starter pokemon every six months," Kurai answered with a small crooked smile on his face. "And like Valerie said a few minutes ago, we've gotten our starter Pokemon a few weeks ago."

"And tomorrow," Valerie wrapped up. "Just as soon as we meet with Professor Pine, we'll be on our way."

"…well…" Miles looked down at his wrist, just to see what time it was.

"Hey!" Valerie shouted suddenly making both boys jump slightly. "I got an idea! Maybe you should come with us to meet Professor Pine!"

"Huh?" Miles asked raising an eyebrow.

"…not a bad idea Val," Kurai sighted slowly standing up.

"Yeah! The professor might be able to special order a pokemon for you," Val explained. "May take a week or two, but, if you're interested you can join us when we travel."

Raising his hands up in a defensive manner, Miles sweatdropped slightly at the offer of the two newcomers. "Uh, t-that's alright, I mean, the aspect of traveling the country on foot isn't on my to-do list. Thanks though…"

"Well, I suppose that's good," Kurai sighed stretching his arms in the air. "You'd probably just slow us down kid."

"Kurai!" Valerie protested.

"What I meant to say…nice to meet ya kid," Kurai chuckled spinning on his heel and began to walking away. "I'm getting tired anyway, so see ya later…"

"You'll have to forgive Kurai, he's not much of a people person," Valerie giggled watching Kurai walk away. "Anyway, welcome to Saora Miles. Sorry that we won't be here to show you around the town."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Miles replied scratching the back of his head. "Um, what time are you leaving tomorrow?"

"I'm not really sure," Valerie answered scratching the back of Phoenix's head. "Why?"

"Well, uh, maybe I could see you guys off," Miles suggested turning slightly.

"Don't worry! I'll make sure that Kurai and I will say goodbye to you," Valerie replied with a snap of her free hand before spinning on her heel. "I'll see ya tomorrow Miles!"

"Yeah!" Miles shouted out, in the first hour, Miles had met two potential friends…

And tomorrow, he'd have to say goodbye to them…

Later…at the entrance to Serene Town at precisely at midnight… 

"Heh…you sure we've got the right place, four eyes?"

"What do you take me for? I may be new…but that doesn't mean that I haven't prepared for this moment! And don't call me four eyes!"

"Uh…you do realize that I'm new too…"

"What?! Why would they send two newbie members on a mission?"

"Relax specs. We don't need to stress this…you've got the time when the Prof. should get here right?"

"Well of course! I'm not screwing up my first mission!"

"Then take a deep breath and relax. We'll be able to get the target…"

"I suppose you're right…"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 6:14 a.m._

_Location: Serene Town,_

_Sabers' Residence_

The morning sun slowly appeared over the calm horizon that belonged to Serene Town, and pouring into the window of Miles's new room…

"GOOD MORNING! MILES!" 

"What the!?"

BOOM!

Dressed in his pajamas, Miles landed on the black carpeted floor as his dad crashed on top of the medium sized bed, bouncing a few times on the mattress. "Good to see you up son!"

"Dad! What in the world?!" Miles shouted standing up as his dad leapt from the bed. "What kind of dad tries to attack his son while he's sleeping?!"

"Ha! You needed to get out of your slump son," Miles's dad laughed showing his flowing white lab coat over his blue and white striped shirt with black pants.

"So…it's time to get up! You're going with me to meet with my new boss, Professor Pine!"

"And when was this decided?!" Miles sighed trying to catch his breath while sitting on the ground.

"Five minutes ago when I got a call from my boss's cell phone!" Miles's dad answered lifting his thumb up in a friendly manner with a large smirk on his face. "So get dressed and hurry up! We've got fifteen minutes till Professor Pine reaches the entrance of the town..."

And with that, Miles's father exited Miles's room, a smile plastered all over his face, while his son slapped his forehead. "You could've told me this earlier!"

A few minutes later…

"Son, why did you dress like you did yesterday?" Miles's father asked while walking next to his son whose hair was quite messy, even more so than usual.

"You didn't give me much choice today dad," Miles growled glaring daggers at his father.

"That's no excuse for wearing dirty clothes," Miles's father replied wagging his finger at his son.

"Oh, I give up…" Miles sighed lowering his head.

"We're here!"

Miles looked up to see Serene Town's entrance sign…and immediately sweatdropped at the sky blue sign with the town's name written in green letters. "…that seems so tacky…"

"Well, get used to it!" Miles's father laughed slapping his son's back. "Now then…Prof. Pine should be here…"

"Hey, dad, how come all the professors in the Pokemon Majority are named after trees?" Miles asked before his dad slowly walked forward. "And wouldn't ya know…I get ignored…"

"Miles?"

With his name called, Miles turned around to see Valerie and Kurai standing right behind him. While Valerie had a surprised look on his face, Kurai on the other hand…he looked to be half asleep. "Valerie? Kurai? What in the world are you two doing here?"

"Well…" Kurai yawned while covering his mouth. "We just got called here to meet Prof. Pine…and now, same question, only to you…and who's this goofy looking guy?"

"Miles!" Miles's dad announced putting his son into a headlock. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friends?"

"N-No!" Miles sputtered trying to get free from his father's death grip.

"Then I'll do it for you!" Mile's dad laughed loudly. "Nice to meet ya you two! I'm Miles's father known as…"

"Dad! Knock it off!" Miles shouted breaking free from his father's death grip.

"…an interesting father you have there Miles," Kurai chuckled before yawning loudly.

"Say son," Miles's father chuckled pulling Miles to the side. "That girl's pretty cute; I had no idea that my younger son was such a player!"

With a large blush creeping onto his face, Miles could only stutter a few times. "D-Dad! Knock it off!"

"Hey! There's the professor!" Valerie announced.

That's when everyone looked up to see a weird man walking into the town, Miles's dad lifting his hand up to the man. The weird man had finely combed sandy blonde hair with a small goatee on his broad face dressed in a college professional professor suit. In his right hand was a small brief case and in his left arm, appeared to be…

'_A blue egg?_'

"Professor Pine! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Miles's father announced surprising the apparent Professor as he bounced towards the professor.

"…is your dad like this all the time?" Kurai asked leaning next to Miles. "…or does he just drink too much coffee?"

"Dear Latios, I'm glad that he quit drinking coffee three years ago," Miles sighed in response.

"Eh? Oh, oh yes," Professor Pine sighed in surprise. "You must be the new guy at the office…Duke Sabers correct?" 

"Ah! It's an honor for you to say my name," Miles's Father Duke chuckled with a large smile on his face. That's when he finally noticed the egg in Pine's hand. "Hmm? Is this what I believe we discussed?"

"Yes, I managed to pick this up, and it'll be your first project as well," Pine replied carefully lifting the egg up.

"Hey Professor Pine!" Valerie greeted pumping her arm in the air.

"Ah, Valerie, Kurai…" Professor Pine listed off as he looked at the two Serene Town kids, but stopped when he reached Miles. After a few seconds, a large question mark appeared over the professor's head. "Oh dear…I'm sorry but I don' really remember you…"

"Oh! This is my son," Duke introduced skidding behind Miles and placing his hands on Miles's shoulders. "Miles, say hello to the nice man!"

"…dad I'm not a little kid, I can introduce myself," Miles sighed making Professor Pine laugh.

"Ah, he reminds me of my own son," Pine laughed loudly rubbing his chin at Miles. "So…tell me young man…it must be strenuous to move to a new region…"

"Pretty much…" Miles replied. "Try moving from place to place each and every other year."

Meanwhile a few yards away…

"Hey! Is that blonde dude the guy we're…?"

"Correct…and look in his left arm!"

"WOW! A brief case!"

"…I said left."

"Oh…that's the real target?" 

"Of course…now…on the count of three…two…"

Back with the group…

"So, you going to try to become a trainer like the rest of the kids here?" Pine asked with a bright smile turning towards Kurai and Valerie.

"Well…traveling isn't really my forte," Miles answered lowering his head. "But…"

"Beedrill! Poison Sting!"

With that loud battle cry, group of people turned to the side just in time to see many purple needles shoot into the ground, making all five of them step back just in time.

"Kids! Stay back!" Duke shouted pushing his son back while lifting up a pokeball.

From behind his father, Miles (along with Kurai and Valerie) saw who the attackers were. Standing at least fifteen feet were two mysterious cloaked men, the cloaks dark purple with what appeared to be a large fang that looked to belong to a viper on the chest. The cloaks were ripped to show the men's black clothes underneath and their faces were covered by the hoods of their cloaks.

But, their sizes were drastically different, one was a huge muscular man and the other was a small man who was about Miles's height with a pair of glaring lights from under the hood (maybe he had glasses). While floating next to the big guy, was a large yellow and black bee with a two large needles as if they were hands, a Beedrill.

The little cloaked person raised his hand up, a small cackle coming from his hood. "Professor Pine…I believe you have something that we're in need of. So, we're only going to ask this once."

"Hand over the egg, and no one gets hurt."

"And don't even think about calling the coppers!" The large cloaked person laughed throwing his arms to his sides.

"…that was rather unnecessary," The little cloaked man sighed slapping his forehead. "They don't have time to do that!"

Pine looked down at the egg, and then looked back towards Miles…then with a quick second; Miles had the egg in his arms. "Miles! Take the egg and run!"

"Huh?!" Miles questioned with a few question marks appearing over his head.

"Him?" Kurai questioned blinking a few times.

"Kids! There's no time! Go!" Duke shouted making Miles, Kurai, and Valerie turn around and run. "Make sure that they don't get that egg!"

"R-Right!" Miles announced running off into the town.

"Hey!" The large cloaked person shouted lifting his hand up toward the Beedrill who began to fly after Miles. "Stop him this instant!"

"Oh no you don't!" Duke shouted throwing his pokeball into the air, releasing the Poochyena, Luna to leap into the air stopping the Beedrill. "I'm your opponent!"

"…Chase…" The short cloaked person muttered getting the large cloaked person, Chase's attention. "Deal with these two…I'll get the egg…"

"Heh…you got it Zane!" Chase shouted pulling another pokeball from his belt as the little cloaked person began to follow Miles, a distance between the two. "I'll enjoy this! Go Grimer!" 

Meanwhile, Miles continued to run, having no idea where he was going right now. '_Oh, man! Oh, man! Oh, man!'_

"What's so special with this egg?" Valerie asked while running directly next to Miles as did Kurai.

"…now's not the time," Kurai pointed out turning his head around. "We've got company…"

"Heh! You better stop right now kids!" Zane shouted only ten feet behind the three, and closing the gap between him and the kids.

"Wah!" Miles yelped running a little faster, cradling the big egg in his arms. He was too preoccupied with the chase to notice that the egg began to move a little bit.

"Hey! Wait up for us!" Kurai shouted as he and Valerie began to run even faster.

"Dang it! Why doesn't anyone listen to that?" Zane growled reaching for a pair pokeballs, immediately tossing them both into the air. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this…"

"Seviper! Skorupi! Make them run down that alley!"

Two bright flashes of light appeared in front of the three running kids, one forming into a large black snake with many purple markings, two long curved fangs and a large bladed table. The second was a small purple scorpion like monster with a clawed tail. The two pokemon stepped forward, making Miles skid to a stop with Valerie and Kurai directly behind him.

The Seviper hissed menacingly and the Skorupi lifted its claws at the three young kids before Miles gulped. "…I'm afraid to ask…but does this happen a lot in Saora?"

"Dang it…" Kurai muttered as he, Miles and Valerie slowly backed up into alleyway…

…until they backed up into the chain linked fence at the end of the alley. "Not good at all…" Valerie gulped.

"Maybe for you," Zane chuckled slowly walking towards Miles. "Now then…"

Ba-Dum!

"Why not hand over the egg little boy?" Zane offered lifting his hand up towards Miles as the Seviper and Skorupi slithered and crawled (respectively) next to the weird cloaked man.

"Little? We're both the same height!" Miles replied turning left and right, seeing Valerie and Kurai both lifting up a pokeball in their hands.

"…we're not going to just let you do what you want!" Valerie announced throwing the pokeball into the air, snapping the ball open to allow Phoenix the Torchic to land on the ground in front of her, chirping loudly.

"…this probably won't end well," Kurai muttered tossing the ball forward, allowing Sealth the Treecko to stand in front of Kurai. "…but, I'll have to do this…I guess…"

"Runts," Zane sighed with a snap of his fingers, calling both the Seviper and Skorupi in front of him. "You two keep them occupied…"

With a nod the two poison pokemon charged forward, while Kane slowly walked behind them, his arms crossed.

While Valerie and Kurai were giving commands to their pokemon, Miles looked at the chain link fence and then down at the egg. '_I could probably scale this fence…but, with the egg in my arms…it'd be hard to do it, and I would probably drop the egg. Plus…'_

Miles turned towards Valerie and Kurai, still entranced by his owe thoughts to listen to their commands. There was no way he'd abandon them…

Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum!

"So kiddies, you had a good run," Zane chuckled slowly walking into the alley, past the battling pokemon. "However, your time is up. Hand over the egg before I really get mad."

'_Okay…this isn't what I had in mind when I was forcibly woken up today…_' Miles thought tightening his grip around the egg. "No…"

"Yeah! It's three against one!" Valerie pointed out raising her fist up. "There's no way that you'll get this egg!"

"…I admire your courage kids," Zane sighed snapping his black gloved fingers, once more. That's when a painful chirp and forced cough echoed through the alley. "However, courage isn't worth squat unless you've got something to back it up."

"Sealth!"

"Phoenix!"

Miles's eyes widened at the sight behind Zane, the Seviper (although it was a little battle damaged along with the Skorupi) was wrapped around Phoenix, squeezing the fire bird pokemon tight. While the Skorupi had its clawed tail pinning Sealth to the brick wall by its neck.

Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum!

"Last chance kid…" Zane stated lifting his hand up towards Miles. "Your choice…either you give me the egg… or I'll rid the world of two runts…"

"…the day I give you this egg," Miles scowled putting his back up against the chain link fence. "…is the day you get to be six feet tall!"

That did it…a large blood vessel appeared on the back of Zane's hood, making him clutch his fist very tightly. "Why you little…no one mocks my height and gets away with it! Seviper! Skorupi! Finish…"

Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! Ba-Dum! Ba-DUM!

A small cracking sound echoed through the alley, making everyone stop in their tracks and turn towards the egg…a large crack had appeared on the egg's shell, and was getting bigger!

"Huh?" Valerie and Kurai questioned taking their eyes off of their own pokemon for a second.

"Whoa! What the!?" Zane stuttered pulling his collar as the egg began to get more cracks. "The egg! I-It's…"

"Hatching…" Miles muttered before the egg's shell shattered in a small bright light. "…it…it feels warm…"

When the light died down, Miles's eyes met with small brown red eyes that looked at him curiously. Those brown red eyes belonged to a small blue fox like creature, its extended fur on its head; the area around his eyes, chest and hind legs had black fur on them. At the sight of Miles, the small pokemon wagged it long blue tail and yelped in joy. "Ri-Riolu!"

"W-what in the?" Miles questioned blinking a few times at the weird pokemon.

'_What a cutie!' _Valerie thought for a second.

"…Well…that answers what the hell was in the egg," Zane chuckled shaking his head as his Seviper and Skorupi looked at him in a strange manner. "Uh…right! Now then! Hand that pokemon over right now! Or else…"

"Viper!"

"Skor! Kor!"

"Knock it off!" Miles shouted closing his eyes.

"Riolu!"

Opening his eyes, Miles was shocked to see the small blue and black pokemon slam its foot on the top of the Seviper's head, sending it to the ground releasing the panting Phoenix.

Then, with a jump from the wall, the fox pokemon propelled itself into Skorupi, slamming its hind foot into the scorpion pokemon, sending it skidding backwards. And being released from the wall, Sealth began reach for his breath.

The small pokemon then flipped backwards and went into a fighting stance. Everyone was awestruck, especially Miles whose eyes widened at the pokemon's speed. "Whoa…"

"Seviper! Skorupi! Don't let that pup get the best of you!" Zane snarled as his slightly bruised up snake and scorpion pokemon raised their heads up. "Good! Now! Iron Tail on that pup and Poison Sting!"

With its loud hiss, the Seviper charged forward, its bladed tail glowing silver and the Skorupi's stinger glowing purple, Miles looked down to see the blue and black pokemon, Riolu looking to him…as if he was waiting for something, even though the Seviper and Skorupi's attacks were getting closer. Then it hit Miles. "R-Right! Use…uh…"

"_Phoenix! Ember!"_

"_Sealth! Dodge it with Quick Attack, and counter with Pound!"_

"Quick Attack!"

Then, just as the Seviper's Iron Tail was about to slam into the small Riolu, in a blue and black blur, the Riolu slammed its foot into the side of Seviper's face, sending it flying backwards into the Skorupi, flying them both past Zane, almost hitting the surprised purple cloaked man. "W-what the?!"

When the small Riolu landed on the ground, he immediately leapt into Miles's arms, rubbing his head into Miles's chest, as if to celebrate the victory. "That…that was amazing…"

"…what just happened?" Kurai asked lifting Sealth with his hand. "…I blinked and missed it…"

"I don't know…" Valerie replied.

"Yeah, yeah," Zane sighed returning his Seviper back into its pokeball. "Fortunately for you, I only got this Seviper and Skorupi a day ago. But, I can still take the pokemon myself!"

Before Zane could get another step towards Miles, Valerie and Kurai, two broad hands immediately clasped on the small cloaked man's shoulders, making him turn his head to see Duke (with a few bruises on his face) smiling down at him. "…now, I know you weren't just threatening a few innocent kids now…were you?"

"Uh…yes?" Zane answered as the grip on his shoulders began to tighten before he thrown backwards over Duke's shoulders. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

As a loud crash filled the air and a sweatdrop rolling off of all six of the kids and pokemon's heads, Duke slowly walked to his son with a smile and knelt down to be eye level with his son. "Well now…So that's what was in the egg…"

A little shy, Riolu immediately turned to Miles's chest to hide himself from Duke, just laughed in response. "Ha, shy little guy isn't he?"

'_But…how did this little guy take down that Seviper and Skorupi with such speed?_' Miles thought, slowly petting the little Riolu's head.

"Son…I think we need to have a little talk," Duke stated getting Miles's attention, this was actually one of the few times that Miles's father had been serious. "And you two…you'll have to come with me to Professor Pine's lab."

"…about what?" Miles asked standing up, while still carrying Riolu…even though it was a little heavy for its size.

"We'll have to talk at Professor Pine's lab," Duke answered standing up with his son, a more serious look on his face.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Vyser D:** Reviews would be nice…

**Update:** Changed the chapter to make it a little cleaner…


	2. Chapter 2: The Real Beginning

Vyser D: Well, I got a review and as per my rules…at least one review and I'll continue

**Vyser D:** Well, I got a review and as per my rules…at least one review and I'll continue.

Don't own Pokemon…

Speech Key

Regular –

_Thought –_

-_Pokemon Talk_- -

Through Electronics -

Enjoy.

**Update: 4 / 5 / 08:** Reformatted the chapter.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Chapter 2**

**The Real Beginning **

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

An hour had passed since the incident that involved the two cloaked men, and currently Miles and Duke were sitting across from each other in an extra room in Professor Pine's laboratory. From the look of the room, Miles was able to figure out this must've been a small makeshift library or study.

However, when they had arrived at the lab, Miles was pulled by his dad to this library, Prof. Pine on the other hand had taken Kurai and Valerie to register them as trainers.

On his lap, Miles had allowed the tired Riolu to curl up in a small blue ball to sleep the battle must've drained the small pokemon. While at Duke's feet; Luna sat determined and ready to take any orders that may have been relayed to her from Duke, albeit she was a little hurt from the battle earlier…

"Hey dad," Miles spoke up, breaking the silence.

"…"

"Dad?"

"… …"

"Dad…"

"… … …"

"DAD!"

Duke remained silent as he starred at his fuming son. '_Great…the one time I want him to talk…he shuts up!_'

Then turning away from the peeved Miles, Duke began to scratch the puppy pokemon's back, giving her his undivided attention away from Miles. '_…looks like its going to happen again…the apple does fall from the family tree as it would seem…'_

With a loud yawn, Riolu stretched slightly before looking towards Miles face, his blue tail wagging. "Ri, ri!"

"Oh, I guess you're up then," Miles chuckled scratching the Riolu under the chin, making the Emanation Pokemon's chin. "How you doing…Riolu?"

"Ri! Ri, ri!" Riolu yelped happily.

"…I have no clue what that means…" Miles chuckled nervously with a question mark appearing over his head. '_I don't speak pokemon…'_

"No worries. Over time, a trainer and a pokemon will get closer," Duke answered getting Miles and Riolu looking at him. "Usually, this develops relatively early in the relationship after the trainer catches the pokemon…thus allowing a trainer to understand their pokemon. A good example would have to be like me and Luna!"

"…and here I thought you were going crazy whenever you talked to Luna," Miles muttered moving his head slightly to the right.

"Hmm…ha! Nice one son!" Duke laughed getting back to his usual self, especially with the large goofy smile that was plastered on his face.

Before Miles could get another word in, the door to the study opened up getting everyone's attention to see Prof. Pine entering the room with a small red device in his hands. "Oh, I hope I was interrupting anything."

"Of course not sir!" Duke announced jumping from his seat and standing in front of Professor Pine, freaking out the young professor slightly. "Just giving my son a little talking to!"

"Well…good, I suppose," Prof. Pine chuckled slightly, taking a small step away from Duke before heading towards Miles. "Anyway…have you told your son anything yet?"

"Sir, no, sir!" Duke laughed saluting towards Prof. Pine.

"Good, I suppose," Prof. Pine said standing at the table nearby Miles and leaning up against it. "Anyway…Miles, I would first like to say thank you for saving little Riolu here, although, it looks like you both saved each other…"

"Well, I didn't expect the egg to hatch, sir," Miles answered rubbing the back of Riolu's head, making the small fighting pokemon's tail to wag rapidly.

"Actually, the egg was getting ready to hatch, but I didn't expect it to hatch with you sonny," Pine replied attempting to pet Riolu on the head, only have his hand smacked to the side by Riolu's paw playfully. "But, I digress. I apologize for keeping you both here for so long, but I had to attend a small meeting the two new trainers to get them started…"

'_Must be referring to Valerie and Kurai,_" Miles thought to himself playing with Riolu's tail, making the pokemon run on his lap. '_…hmm, looks like I won't be seeing them off…dang it dad…"_

"Oh! That's no trouble at all, sir!" Duke laughed rubbing the back of his head. "We're happy to wait for you!"

'_Speak for yourself…_" Miles thought shaking his head as Riolu tilted his head at his trainer's behavior.

"That's good to know," Pine replied with a smile on his face before shaking his head. "Any who, it would appear that Riolu has taken a liking to you Miles…This wasn't part of the plan that I had originally thought of, since it's a real rare find to get a Riolu egg in the Saora region…"

"Can you hold up for a second?" Miles interrupted making Pine blink a few times. "I've got a few questions for you sir." 

"Go ahead," Pine replied rubbing his chin wondering what questions Miles could have.

"Miles! Behave yourself!" Duke pleaded throwing his arm over his eyes, too bad his fake weeping was ignored. "Don't give the old professor a hard time!"

"…old?" Pine asked with an twitching eyebrow.

"First, who were those cloaked guys?" Miles asked as Riolu scratched his head in confusion. "Why were they after Riolu here? And why'd you call us here?"

"Hmm…" Professor Pine replied rubbing his chin in deep thought. "Well…You're certainly forward for your age…anyway, I never heard of anyone dressing up like that in broad daylight before…"

"As for why they were after the little pup right here…more than likely they got wind of the fact that I had a pokemon egg with me in the underground circuits. They were probably hoping for an extremely rare pokemon…"

"And as for why I called you here…" Pine snickered making a large smile on his and Duke's face. "Well…that's a little secret…"

"Come on, get to the point!" Miles growled slapping his forehead as Riolu did the same a few seconds later.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Pine chuckled reaching into his pocket lifting up a small red and white ball towards Miles. "Anyway, here, before we continue, I'd like you to put Riolu in this pokeball…"

Slowly taking the ball, Miles held it in front of Riolu who sniffed the weird contraption in front of him. "Wait…how do you work one of these things?"

"Ri, ri!" Riolu replied as it tapped the ball with its tail curiously, immediately transforming into a red light that slipped into the ball. The pokeball twitched a few times before a small clicking sound announced that the capture was completed.

"Congratulations son! You just caught a Riolu!" Duke announced raising his hand up in a victory sign.

"…please don't do that dad," Miles sighed shaking his head at his father's actions.

"Yes, well that aside, you now truly own Riolu," Pine replied lifting up the small red and black pocket sized machine. "However…since you just accepted that pokemon, then you've just made an agreement…"

"Wait…what?" Miles questioned a little confused as to what just happened.

"…yeah…what are you talking about, sir?" Duke asked, as apparently he was also in the dark about this part of the little deal.

"Allow me to explain gentlemen," Professor Pine replied wagging his finger while lifting the strange device. "As you are both no doubt aware, Duke Sabers, you are my newest assistant. Well, that egg that became Riolu was supposed to be your first project, to study and understand the characteristics of that specific pokemon and how it would interact in our environment…"

"Unfortunately, due to those two cloaked people, that's not really a possibility right now…unless your son were to help us."

"How in the world is me having Riolu…" Miles asked raising an eyebrow along with Riolu's pokeball up. "…going to solve that problem anyway?" 

"I was thinking that we could see how this pokemon could react with humans," Pine answered wagging his finger at Miles. "Besides…from how I could tell how Riolu was acting, that he'd be a pain to get away from you. So rather fighting it, you're going to help us in exchange for Riolu." 

"Man…I didn't think that you'd be evil," Miles admitted with a large droplet of sweat appearing on the back of his head.

"Not evil…calculating!" Pine laughed with a wide smile on his face. "It's quite ingenious really…with this Pokedex, you'll be able to record the statistics of your Riolu and you can transfer how they differ from the records we have from other regions…"

"Sir…are you actually suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Duke asked with a great smile on his face.

"Yep!" Prof. Pine replied with a sneaky smile back on his face.

With those smiles on the two researchers' faces, Miles was almost afraid to ask. "…would one of you tell me what you're getting at?"

"Miles Sabers…congratulations!" Duke laughed pulling his son into a deadly bear hug that began to crush Miles's ribs.

"DAD! TOO…TOO TIGHT!" Miles wheezed loudly until Duke released Miles to the ground to catch his breath. "What in the world was that for?" 

"I'm so proud that you're going to become a trainer," Duke sniffed wiping a tear from his eye. "This is so unlike you!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Miles shouted jumping to his feet waving his arms up. "I never agreed to be a trainer!"

"Go on! Go on and follow in your brother's footsteps!" Duke began to cry fake tears as Luna joined him in the crying. "Go and break your father's fragile little heart after it had finally healed after your brother left…but, if it's for Riolu's sake…"

"Dad, I don't want to be a trainer," Miles pointed out with an exasperated look on his face. "I don't know how clearer I can be…"

"Then I hear what you're saying…" Duke muttered rubbing his chin. "And you have my permission to leave tomorrow for your adventure!"

"HUH!?" Miles questioned before stomping his foot into the ground. "I never said that!"

"You have nothing to fear, sir!" Duke shouted as he saluted towards Professor Pine with gusto, while Luna barked in respect. "Miles will not fail you and neither will I!"

"Very good, I'll be looking forward to your work Mr. Sabers," Prof. Pine replied with a smile. "And good luck Miles…you're going to need it."

"Now wait a minute…" Miles growled before Duke appeared before him.

Then in a quick second, Duke managed to lift Miles and the Pokedex over his shoulder and head out of the room with Luna following him. "Let's go son! We've got to prepare your stuff for your journey!"

"AAH! HELP ME!!" 

As soon as the door closed behind Luna, Professor Pine shook his head slightly. "Well…I never did expect this to happen…but, I suppose that its better that the little pup got a trainer."

"Being cooped up in a lab is nothing I wish of anyone…"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 12:00 m_

_Location: Unknown_

"Chase…why did we join in the first place…?" Zane gulped as he and the muscular Chase were led down the dark hallway that had several other similar cloaked people.

Thanks to some quick thinking on Zane's part, he and Chase were able to escape from Serene Town before the police were able to arrive and return to the main base…

…although, with the way things were looking, maybe it would've been better for them to be caught in the snare of the law rather than be where they were now. "Zane, I've read about prison…and it's not good at all…"

"We're not going to prison," Zane sighed shaking his head at Chase's last statement. "We're going to go see… 'him'…"

"You mean the boss?" Chase asked turning left and right at the many cloaked people around them, all of them silent as if Zane and Chase were never here in the first place. "Ya know…I never got a chance to meet the boss before…"

"Me either," Zane replied as the group of cloaked people began to approach a large high tech door that had three different holes etched into it…as if they were key holes…

"I wonder what kind of person the boss is?" Chase muttered stopping as the large group stopped in front of the large pairs of doors…three of the other cloaked people slowly approached the door, all three of them lifting up a dark purple jewel that was promptly inserted into one of the three holes.

"Well…it's not that hard to see what kind of person he is," Zane gulped as the doors slowly began to unlock and open in front of the large group. "I mean…we're talking about the founder of this group…The Venomous Fang Order…my money's on that he's nothing more than an evil mastermind who's serious about his job and work…"

"T-Then…" Chase sputtered closing his eyes. "T-That means…"

"Y-Yeah…" Zane stuttered crossing his arms. "…we're probably going to die…"

As the dark doors were opening, the small group slowly entered the dark room, many neon lights illuminating the walls that had a large silver desk in the room. Behind the desk, sat the very man who was apparently the 'boss', more than likely working on some very important work…

"Ha! Take that you dumb turtle shell!"

…scratch that last statement…

Finally noticing that the group was in front of his desk, the mysterious man placed the portable game system on the desk in front of him and stood up, coughing slightly. "Ugh…please excuse me, sometimes I get too involved with my game time…"

Walking from behind the desk, the mysterious leader immediately stood in front of the group, his large eyes starring directly at both Zane and Chase…making them both stand up straight. "…but, I suppose that you two are the ones that failed…right?"

The other cloaked people stepped to the side, leaving Zane and Chase alone in front of the mysterious leader freaking them out at the coordination of the other people. Then with a loud gulp, Zane slowly raised his right hand up. "Uh…yes sir…we are the ones, Grunt Zane and Grunt Chase reporting in…"

"Grunts…I suppose I should've known better," The mysterious leader replied rubbing his chin before bonking his head with the side of his fist. "Oh well, it's my fault for thinking during my game time…"

"So…does that mean you're not mad with us?" Chase asked tilting his head to the side as the mysterious leader turned his attention back towards Chase and Zane.

"Oh…well," The mysterious leader slowly smiled at the two grunts, making them both sigh in relief. "Of course I'm mad with you two…"

"Huh?!" Chase and Zane questioned, both of them taking a step back away from the leader. "B-B-But you don't look mad at all!"

"I know…I don't know how to display anger well…" the leader sighed shaking his head while placing one of his hands on one of Zane and Chase's shoulders. "…in fact, an emotion I rarely show is anger or sadness. Now then…I think its time you two deliver a report as to what happened…"

"Uh, yes sir!" Zane announced saluting towards the leader. "We had precisely made it to the small town at the precise time that your scouts had reported, and we did encounter and confront Professor Pine who had the egg…"

"Yeah! But, ya see there was this guy and kid!" Chase interrupted making Zane jump slightly due to the loud voice. "When we tried taking da egg, the smart guy tossed the kid the egg who ran off! I tried to give chase, but I had to deal with the professor and the guy who were there!"

"Yes, and I was the one who followed the kid!" Zane interjected pushing Chase slightly. "And I had him cornered too! But then, the egg hatched into a small blue fox like pokemon. I tried to subdue it and the trainer…but…"

"That's when you failed," The leader finished shaking his head, still having the large bright smile on his face. "Right?"

"Y-Yeah…" Zane sighed before Chase pumped his fist into the air.

"But don't worry sir!" Chase shouted into the air stomping his foot into the ground. "The next time we see that little runt, I'll crush him! I'll smash him! I'll…"

"Do nothing of the sort," The leader finished for Chase, surprising the two grunts.

"What!?" Chase and Zane shouted at the same time taking a step backwards.

"…we may have failed taking the egg," The leader sighed turning around to head for his desk. "However, we have many projects and this one set back isn't going to stop our plans at all…besides, I have a new mission for you two…an intelligence gathering mission in Gardner City. We've got information that Team Atmos is working on something there…"

"I want you two to scout and find out what exactly they're doing there and report it immediately. Depending on what it is, you'll receive more orders and perhaps the help of an admin…"

"Sir," Zane and Chase replied slamming their fists into their chests. "Yes, sir!"

"Good, and by the way, I wish you luck on next month's pay check," the leader chuckled sitting behind his desk and interlocking his fingers. "And being grunts…it looks like you both are going to enjoy ramen noodles for a while…"

"What!?" Chase and Zane shouted at the same time with clouds of darkness appearing over their heads.

"That'll be all gentlemen," The leader shooed the two grunts off with a smile on his face while the two grunts walked out from the room. '_Hmm…a boy using a newly hatched pokemon to defeat one of my newest grunts? Sounds interesting…however, I shouldn't be concerned with this…'_

'_Now then…where'd I put my DS?'_

"Sir?"

Turning from his search for the portable game system, the leader turned to see another cloaked person (wearing a fancier version of the cloak), only with the hood down to reveal his white hair with a widow's peak to reveal his sharp face with a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes. Then with a sigh, the leader slumped into his seat while placing his fist under his chin. "Ahh…what do you Turner?"

"Sir, I have the reports for on the Venom plan," Turner replied slapping a few folders on the Leader's desk. "We can begin when you give the word…"

"…what word?" The leader asked tilting his head slightly.

"…it's a saying sir," Turner answered lowering his head.

/--/-/-/-/-/-/-/

_Time: 5:59 am_

_Location: Serene Town_

_Sabers Residence_

After getting home from Professor Pine's lab, Miles was forced to prepare for the long journey that he was forced to do by his father…pretty uneventful with the exception of the many comments that Miles tried to point out that he wasn't really into being a trainer…

…of course those just fell on the deaf ears of his father.

But currently, Miles was trying to get a normal night's sleep, of course, Miles wanted to let Riolu out of the pokeball to allow the small pokemon a decent night's sleep…

…but he didn't expect the small fighting type pokemon to be sleeping on top of Miles while he was sleeping. Somehow, Miles and Riolu had fallen asleep a few hours ago, enjoying the serenity of the early morning.

That is, until the small clock that was at the side of Miles's bed turned to exactly six o'clock, making the familiar shadowed man to smile brightly as he lifted up a small megaphone…

"_**TIME TO WAKE UP SON!**_

With that loud blast of sound echoing through his room, all the Pidgey and Starley that were sitting on the roof flew off into the sky. All the while both Miles and Riolu jumped out of the bed grabbing their ears before falling to the ground.

"Ha! What a way to enjoy the morning!" Duke laughed loudly placing the megaphone under his arm.

"DAD! What the hell was that for!?" Miles shouted throwing his fist up towards his father.

"RI! RIO! LU!" Riolu shouted in a similar fashion as his new master, all the while mimicking Miles's actions.

"It was your morning wake up call, son!" Duke laughed lifting up a pair of familiar clothes. "Now then…its time for you to get ready, starting with some appropriate clothes!"

"Wait…what!?"

"Now get changed!"

"ACK! Fine! But I can do it myself dad!"

"Ri! Riolu!"

"Give me a hand Riolu!"

"Hurry up son! The earlier you leave, the earlier you can get started on your journey!"

"OKAY! JUST LET ME CHANGE ON MY OWN!"

After about thirty minutes of arguing, Miles finally descended the stairs dressed in a similar fashion that he had in the past two days, only wearing a black shirt with a white music note on it and a black backpack on his shoulders. On his backpack was a yawning Riolu that stretched his arms once in a while.

Duke somehow already managed to get down stairs with a small bag in his hands and Luna sleeping on the black couch. "Well…that took long enough!"

"It would've taken a lot less time if you didn't argue with me!" Miles shouted before rubbing his temples. '_Just think of the plus side…I won't have dad waking me up every morning…'_

"Now then, I've packed you some lunch for you and Riolu," Duke stated hading Miles the bag he had. "Also, I've put your Pokedex, some money, a few pokeballs, extra you-know-what's, your toothbrush, sleeping bag, tent, extra clothes, and…"

"Dad! I get it!" Miles moaned slapping his forehead before making a dash to the door. "Well…I'llseeyalaterdad! ButnowI'vegottobegoing! SEE YA!"

"Don't forget! There's a map in your backpack!" Duke shouted chasing after his son to the door. "And make sure to head to Temp Town!"

"YEAH! SEE YA LATER!"

Stopping in the middle of the door to see his son speed off towards entrance of Serene Town, a smile appeared on Duke's face as he crossed his arms over his chest. "…ah…the memories that this brings back. Reminds me of way I got Axel to go…"

A few minutes later, Miles was breathing hard at the tacky entrance to Serene Town, Riolu snickered at his trainer's behavior. "Oh, yeah…laugh at the guy who just got kicked out of his home…"

"-_Hey, at least you had a home, big guy_!-"

"Huh?" Miles questioned turning back to see Riolu still on his backpack with crossed arms.

"Ri, rio lu, ri!"

"Oh…for a minute there, I thought you were speaking to me," Miles chuckled with Riolu tilting his head to the side slightly.

"Ri?" the confused fighting type pokemon questioned blinking a few times at his trainer.

Then, turning back to the exit, Miles was graced with the scenery of a large field with a large dirt road streaming through it with long grass and a few trees around it. "…Anyway, you ready Riolu?"

Pumping is paw into the air, Riolu yelped happily. "RI! Ri, ri!"

"Very well, onwards I suppose," Miles sighed taking a few steps forward raising his hand up as well.

The road seemed to go on for as far as Miles could see, and with each step he took, the road seemed to keep getting longer and longer…

…usually, any normal trainer wouldn't be affected by this little turn of events, mainly because the pure excitement of leaving home and becoming independent would make the journey to the next town only last a mere minute.

But remember this wasn't the case with Miles, he was forced to leave…and thus lead to the small predicament that appeared in the first ten minutes of the journey…

"WHERE THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GO!?" Miles shouted pulling his hair while Riolu sweatdropped at his trainer's behavior once again.

"…ri…" Riolu sighed digging into the backpack that he was sitting on to pull out a piece of folded paper up, getting Miles's attention. "Ri, riol!"

"Oh yeah," Miles chuckled taking the paper from Riolu, and unfolding it to see that it was the map that his father had packed for him. "My dad did leave me a map…good thinking Riolu…"

"Rio!" Riolu yelped happily while pointing at a random part of the map.

"…Riolu…that's a river," Miles pointed out rolling his eyes.

"-_Alright, then why don't you try to find our route?_-"

Shifting his head left and right, Miles then looked towards the smirking Riolu with crossed arms. "…I must be going crazy…"

'_So…now I'm a trainer. Oh joy, I didn't expect this to happen…'_ Miles thought as he continued forward, enjoying the slight breeze that flowed through his hair while Riolu leaned up against the back of his head.

With a small smile, Miles looked back at the map this time locating where Serene Town was on it. "…next stop…Temp Town…weird name."

Then stopping for a few seconds, Miles placed the map into his backpack, trying not to disturb Riolu. "Now…what exactly does a trainer do exactly?"

"Riolu…" the Lamentation pokemon barked slightly before landing on the ground, surprising Miles. Then, tapping his paw against his chest, Riolu smiled with his nose pointing upwards. "Ri!"

"…from what I could gather," Miles stated rubbing his chin at Riolu. "I know I'm supposed to train you Riolu…but what else is a trainer supposed to do?"

Rustle…rustle, rustle… 

Riolu turned to the side to see a small white and brown bird like pokemon hop out of grass, pecking at the ground a few times, trying to gather some bugs on the ground. "…Ri!"

"But, dang…I should've asked the old man about this," Miles muttered slapping his forehead.

Blinking in confusion, Riolu turned back to the small bird (a Pidgey) that began to flap its wings. Fearing that the small bird pokemon might fly away, Riolu ran to Miles's leg and poked his trainer's leg. "Riolu! Ri!"

"ARGH! You'd they'd make a manual for this sort of thing!" Miles shouted pulling his hair a few times.

With a slight sigh, Riolu raised his paw up…took aim…

SMACK!!

"OW!" Miles yelped rubbing his knee. "RIOLU! What was that for!?"

"-_Sorry! But in case you didn't notice…_-" Riolu barked pointing his paw towards the Pidgey that was currently pecking at its wings. "-_There's an opponent for us!_-"

Miles didn't know how to react to Riolu's last statement…sure, the fact that he could understand Riolu would make normal people freak out slightly, but then again Miles did remember what his father told him yesterday…

"_Over time, a trainer and a pokemon will get closer," Duke answered getting Miles and Riolu looking at him. "Usually, this develops relatively early in the relationship after the trainer catches the pokemon…thus allowing a trainer to understand their pokemon. A good example would have to be like me and Luna!"_

"…_and here I thought you were going crazy," Miles muttered moving his head slightly to the right._

That still didn't help…

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Miles shouted getting both Riolu and the Pidgey to blink at him.

"-_Hey! Calm down!-_" Riolu yelped raising his arms up.

Then taking a deep breath, Miles slowly readjusted himself to a calmer manner…

"…Right!" Miles shouted throwing his arm up towards the Pidgey, making Riolu smile brightly. "Well, then! If I'm going to be a trainer, I might as well try my hardest! Riolu! Ready?" 

"-_I've been itching for a chance!_-" Riolu laughed before turning around to face the Pidgey.

"…I may not know what to do…" Miles muttered as Riolu positioned himself in a small martial arts stance. "But, anything can happen over time!" 

"Riolu! Quick Attack!"

"_-You got it!_-"


	3. Chapter 3: The First Step

Vyser D: I got two reviews…but I'll try again…enjoy…

**Vyser D:** I got two reviews…but I'll try again…enjoy…

Don't own Pokemon…

Speech Key

Regular –

_Thought –_

-_Pokemon Talk_- -

Through Electronics -

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Chapter 3**

**The First Step**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Ah, the calm country road leading out of Serene Town…

…the calm breeze…

…the lovely shades of green that lined the dirt covered road…

…the several homicidal Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot flying after a familiar new trainer with his first pokemon clinging to his backpack…

…wait, what was that last line?

"-_Run! Faster! Faster!-"_ Riolu shouted trying to keep his grip on Miles's backpack.

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME TWICE!" Miles shouted back dodging a few dive bombing Pidgey, while trying to keep his speed up.

It had only been an hour since Mile and Riolu had come across that lone Pidgey, and it was almost a breeze for Riolu to defeat such a greenhorn pokemon…

…unfortunately, while Miles was struggling to figure out what he was supposed to do after he battled that small bird pokemon…another Pidgey appeared before Miles and Riolu.

And before Miles realized it, Riolu managed to defeat the next Pidgey with no effort at all…causing two more Pidgey to hop from the tall grass. Thanks to Riolu's reckless behavior, he immediately attack the two of them…

Before Miles knew it, many, many, MANY more Pidgey along with their evolutions began to chase him and Riolu. Sure Riolu tried to fight off a few more of the bird pokemon…but Miles had to pull and explain the situation to the fighting pokemon…

That still didn't help…

"_-Come on, Miles! I can take them!-_" Riolu pouted before getting a look at some of the large birds… "_-…On second thought…GO FASTER!_"

"You're the speedy one Riolu!" Miles shouted making Riolu rub its chin in deep thought. "Why don't you run? You can easily get away!" 

"_-Hmm…good idea!-_" Riolu barked digging into the backpack.

"Riolu?!" Miles questioned sidestepping to dodge a diving Pidgeot. "What are you doing?!"

Lifting up a small lunch box and a black bag that was tied around the top, Riolu wagged his tail repeatedly with a small smile on his face. "_-I'll save our lunches!-_"

Then with that, Miles watched as Riolu leapt off his backpack and began to run at a much faster rate than Miles was able to. "What the?! RIOLU!"

"_-I'll never forget you, Miles!-_" Riolu cried with fake tears streaming down his face, before disappearing into a cloud of smoke. "_-Your lunch will not be eaten in vain!-_"

"Why you little…" Miles started before realizing that all of the bird pokemon were still chasing him. "Damn it!"

**Twenty minutes later…**

"Can't…keep…going…" Miles panted trying to keep distance from the deadly bird pokemon…all of them knowing that their prey was starting to get very tired. "Must…talk…like…this…"

For that one instant, Miles didn't see the small rock that was sticking up from the road, causing the newly forced trainer to fall face first into ground. "Oof!"

With their prey immobilized, all of the Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot flew directly behind Miles, preparing one final swoop on the fallen trainer. "Aw man…I really didn't expect to die like this…"

"I didn't get a chance to get back at my dad…or Riolu…oh well…farewell cruel world!"

"Siegfried! Feather Dance and Gust!"

Blinking a few times, Miles turned around to see a large tornado blocking the many bird pokemon, multiple white feathers dancing in the powerful windstorm. Eventually, all of the angry bird pokemon flew off in a different direction, probably to find another target for their rage.

Miles was speechless as the windstorm died down, allowing the many feathers to gently fall before him. Truly an amazing sight, especially when a large eagle like shadow covered Miles.

Slowly, the shadowed bird landed on the ground, revealing another Pidgeot, only this one having a scar racing down the right side of its face. "Well, looks like that was a close call! Excellent timing, Siegfried."

"Pidge!" The Pidgeot named Siegfried chirped in victory before flapping its wings to fly over Miles's head.

Following the mysterious bird's flight, Miles turned around to see the owner of the voice and Siegfried. Needless to say, Miles had a hard time turning away.

Standing before him was a young woman (roughly in her early twenties) with long dark hair tied back with a bonnet into a long tail that seemed to reach her ankles, however, she had a long bang that covered the left side of her face. But, Miles just sweatdropped at the clothing that his savior was wearing, especially since she was wearing a long yellow scarf around her neck along with a white vest that was half zipped up with a long black sleeved shirt underneath and baggy black pants.

'…_great…away from the killer birds, and welcomes from the freak parade,_' Miles thought as the sweatdrop on the back of his head began to grow even larger.

"You okay kid?" The mysterious woman asked holding her hand out to Miles who had shook his head free from the sweatdrop.

"Uh, yeah…" Miles replied taking the woman's hand to pull him to his feet.

"You'll have to forgive the bird pokemon here," the woman replied walking towards the Pidgeot. "They're extremely territorial, and it can be dangerous unless you've got a pokemon with ya…"

"…thanks for the advice," Miles sighed shaking his head remembering that Riolu had run off…with his lunch to boot as well. "And thanks for the help." 

"Don't worry about it," The woman giggled spinning on her heel to turn back to Miles, smiling down at Miles. "It's not everyday that a maiden can become the knight in shinning armor…"

'_Someone's been reading a few too many fairy tales,_' Miles thought with a dulled look on his face.

"But hey, you got a name kid?" The woman asked placing a hand at her hip.

"Isn't customary to give your name first before asking for someone else's?" Miles questioned making the woman's visible eye widen slightly.

"True…but a gentleman must introduce himself before a lady does," the woman countered wagging her finger as Siegfried wagged his large wing in a similar manner.

"In case you didn't notice," Miles pointed out rubbing his forehead. "I'm only a kid, not a man."

"Ah, ya got me there," The woman laughed slapping her fist on her chest, while Siegfried shook his head. "Very well…Ashe Hawthorne at your service, and my current profession…I guess you could say, life saver." 

"That was a little much," Miles muttered scratching the side of his face. He honestly expected to meet a few interesting people in this forced journey…but not this weird. "Anyway…I'm Miles Sabers, and I'm, uh, well, a forced trainer."

"Forced Trainer?" Ashe asked raising her eyebrow. "I don't think I've heard of someone being forced to be a trainer."

Well, most people didn't have a father like Duke; they usually had a sane father. "…well, anyway…thanks for the help."

"Ah, like I said earlier, no worries," Ashe giggled twirling her long hair tail in her finger. "In fact, you should thank my Pidgeot, Siegfried."

"…how do you get Siegfried for a bird pokemon?" Miles muttered to himself. That's when Miles mentally slapped himself…he forgot about Riolu. "Oh! AAAAHHH!"

Ashe and Siegfried sweatdropped at the random scream, and even took a step back from the shouting pre-teen. "Um…are you okay, kid?"

"Huh?!" Miles just realized that he was screaming loudly, and immediately blushed madly before slapping his hand over his mouth. "Y-yeah…say, Ashe, have you seen a small blue fox like pokemon around here?"

"Hmm…" Ashe thought rubbing her chin in deep thought…before snapping her fingers loudly. "Oh! I remember seeing a small pup like that…looked like he was carrying a bento and a small sack."

"…what's a 'bento'?" Miles asked blinking a few times, picturing the famous breath mint gum in his mind.

"It's a box lunch," Ashe answered bluntly before raising her hand up towards the dirt road that was only a few feet away from the two. "Anyway, I saw the little guy head towards Temp Town…just take this road and you'll be there in ten minutes."

"…I guess that chase sped up my walk," Miles concluded slowly heading for the path. "Thanks Ashe! I owe you one!"

Ashe smiled as she watched Miles slowly walk off into the distance that was lined by the dirt road, and then turning towards Siegfried, Ashe scratched the bird pokemon's head gently. "Nice kid, don't you think Siegfried?"

"Pid! Pidgeot!"

"…so true my friend," Ashe sighed shaking her head. "He's got a small spark that you don't see that often now-a-days…"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Hmm?" Ashe blinked a few times at her belt, immediately pulling a white cell phone up to her ears. "Hello? Oh, its you…oh, just viewing the scenery, meeting forced trainer…"

"…yeah, I didn't think anyone was forced to become a trainer either."

"So…how's that little 'package' being shipped? What? Oh, you're bringing it through Tempest Forest…that's good, that's very good. Who's guarding the 'package'?"

"…hmm…I'm a little wary about those two…especially since…well, there's no need to interrupt me!"

Then with a quick snap, Ashe closed her phone and immediately slipped it back onto her belt. "People are so rude now-a-days! Doesn't anyone call just to see how you're doing? Or just to say hello?" 

"Pidge?" Siegfried asked tilting his head to the side.

"That's odd for you to say, Siegfried," Ashe chuckled pushing her hair to the side slightly, only for it fall back in front of her face again. "You're usually the one using old time words like 'wireless' or 'spectacles'."

"Pidgeot!" Siegfried huffed, ruffling his feathers, making himself look bigger.

"Don't get your feathers all ruffled up," Ashe giggled petting Siegfried's back, making the bird pokemon coo in joy. "Now then…maybe we should follow our new friend to Temp Town…I'm getting a little hungry myself…"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 7:47 a.m._

_Location: Entrance to Temp Town_

The morning sun gleamed down at the plain entrance to Temp Town, displaying its sign that was made of clear wood with the words 'Temp Town Welcomes!' painted on it in vibrate green paint.

And sitting against the sign, finishing with both the boxed lunch and the pokemon chow was none other than Riolu. Taking a thin twig he had found earlier, Riolu cleaned his teeth carefully. "_-Yum! That was good! That old man can really cook!-_"

Then looking straight up into the air, Riolu kept the makeshift toothpick between his teeth as he placed his paws behind his head to act as a cushion. "_-…I wonder what happened to Miles? Ah well…I'm sure that it'll all turn out right…-_"

"_-…and if not…he'll be in my prayers-"_

And with a slight yawn, Riolu began to close his eyes to fall into a morning snooze…

WHAM!

"-_ACK!-_"

…or not…

"Riolu!" Miles snarled scaring the small Lamentation pokemon (who was currently nursing a small bruise that was on his head).

"_-Miles?! What are you doing here?-_" Riolu yelped waving his arms up into the air.

"Never mind that! I want to know why you ran from me!" Miles shouted getting a glare from Riolu.

"_-You're the one who told me to run!-_" Riolu defended throwing his arms into the air.

"No I didn't!" Miles countered clenching his fist tightly. "And I certainly didn't tell ya to steal my lunch!"

"_-Well…I thought that the birds would follow me with the food rather than you!-_" Riolu protested turning away from his trainer. "_-So…you should be thanking me!-_"

"I considered that…but, if that was the case," Miles growled crossing his arms over his chest with a blood vessel appearing on the side of his head. "…then you shouldn't have eaten MY lunch!"

"_-…Oh…-_" Riolu chuckled rubbing the back of his head. "_-…um, if you hurt me…it'll be Pokemon Abuse!-_"

"How did you learn something like…" Miles shook his head before getting angry once more. "Don't try to change the subject!"

"_-Help!!-_"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 8:13 am_

_Location: Temp Town,_

_Local Pokemon Center_

With quite a few bruises and bandages on his face and arms, Miles slowly held up Riolu's pokeball towards a surprised Nurse Joy. Even though he was new trainer and didn't know that much about pokemon, Miles was forced a few times by his dad to visit a center for Luna's usual check up.

"What happened to you?" Nurse Joy asked making Miles turn his head to the side with a slight whistle coming from his lips.

"Uh, well…" Miles didn't want anyone to know that Riolu managed to get a few good shots. Honestly, Miles didn't know how Riolu learned how to fight dirty (although, Miles had a good guess). "I just had a few bad encounters with some Pidgey…"

"I see…" Nurse joy replied raising an eyebrow at Miles's answer, but immediately shook it off to get to her job. "If you want to relax while you wait for your pokemon to be healed, there's a lounge and cafeteria down the hall and to the right."

"Thanks," Miles sighed in relief while rubbing his stomach, thanks to his dad and Riolu, Miles never got a chance to eat today.

Five minutes later…

At the table where Miles was sitting at, there was a large plate that had a couple pancakes, some scrambled eggs, toast, and a glass of orange juice. Of course, Miles was looking out the window that he sat next to. He didn't get a chance to view Temp Town, mainly because he was more concerned dropping Riolu off to get some quiet time…

…just what he needed to see, the calming scenery of Temp Town, from where Miles could see, it was a backwoods town that had many windmills (more than likely, they were used to power said town) that moved with the breeze. There were also many houses that seemed more up to date than in Serene Town…

…There was one good thing about being a trainer, at least Miles would be able to see the people and places of Saora.

"Enjoying breakfast? Looks like great minds think alike, eh kid?"

Turning from the window, Miles was faced with none other than Ashe who was starting to take the seat across from Miles. "Ah…well, I guess so…"

"Ha! What's the matter?" Ashe giggled placing her small bowl of cereal on the table with a mischievous smile on her face. "Can't talk to pretty girls?"

"Tell me when you find one and we'll put that theory to the test," Miles replied making Ashe mover her head to the side.

"Talk about rude," Ashe huffed, acting a little like Siegfried…well, it is a common occurrence that pokemon took after their trainers. "Ah, I'm just kidding!"

"I wasn't," Miles continued before cutting the pancakes to eat.

"You really need to work on talking to girls," Ashe sighed shaking her head before smiling. "So, since you're here, I take it you found your little pokemon, right?"

"Got Nurse Joy looking after Riolu," Miles replied placing his fork onto his plate. "So, why are you here Ashe?"

"I kinda have to be here," Ashe replied sitting back in her seat placing her arm onto top of the seat. "This is my hometown…"

"Really?" Miles questioned raising an eyebrow learning this new fact as Nurse Joy walked up to the table with a small tray that had a pokeball on it.

"Here you go young man," Nurse Joy stated with a smile on her face, getting both Miles and Ashe to look at her. "You should be a little bit more careful with your pokemon, young man."

"Yeah, I'll make sure of that," Miles replied lifting Riolu's pokeball from the tray.

"But I have to ask," Nurse Joy stated lifting her hand up to mouth. "…you said that you were attacked by Pidgey right?"

"Y-yes," Miles coughed slightly, those birds may not have hurt him, but the sting on his pride would haunt him for a while.

"Heh…" Ashe giggled, and why wouldn't she? She's the one who saved Miles. "Nurse Joy, I hope you're not planning on placing the blame on Team Atmos now…"

'_Team Atmos?_' Miles thought while sipping his orange juice.

"Hmm…oh, I didn't see you there Ashe," Nurse Joy admitted with a small drop of sweat falling off the side of her head. "I figured that you'd be at…"

"It's my day off," Ashe replied placing her arms behind her head. "I can't be expected to work each of the three hundred and fifty six days of the year."

"But back to the main point, Team Atmos hasn't been seen near Temp Town for several months, and I'd know if those troublemakers would be here…" 

"Well…okay," Nurse Joy stated walking away from the table.

"So…what's Team Atmos?" Miles asked placing his glass on the table.

"Oh, well, it's just a hotshot team, you don't need to worry about them though," Ashe answered turning her head back to Miles. "But…you said that you forced to be a trainer, right? You mind telling me more about that?"

"Alright…but be glad you're sitting," Miles chuckled as he rubbed his chin…

Twenty minutes later…

"…and that's when you saved me," Miles wrapped up placing his elbow on the table.

Ashe was quite stunned, she never heard of a father who would force his son to do something like become a trainer. "…I see…so, since you're being forced…what are you going to do?"

"Do?" Miles asked before a bright white light flashed next to him, forming into Riolu (who had a large bandage on his head). "Huh?" 

"_-Yeah Miles! You got to have a plan for us?-_" Riolu asked tilting his head to the side…before noticing that Miles still had some food left on his plate. "_-…or are we just going to run around aimlessly?-_"

"Uh…well, I just figured that I'd just do what dad and Prof. Pine told me to do," Miles chuckled rubbing the back of his head.

"Hmm, I take it this might just be that little guy you were asking about earlier?" Ashe asked placing her chin in her hand as she leaned onto the table. "…what a little cutie!"

"_-…Miles who's this?-_" Riolu asked pointing towards Ashe while tilting his head to the side slightly. "_-And I'm not cute! I'm a fighter!-_"

"…says the guy who ran from the many birds earlier," Miles pointed out, getting Riolu to sweatdrop at his trainer's true comment. "Anyway, Riolu, this is Ashe…Ashe, Riolu."

"Ah…to be young and reckless," Ashe sighed with a smile placing twirling her hair in her fingers. "You shouldn't worry about what path you want to take, but there are several in this world of ours…"

""Yeah…but how do you choose a path when you're forced out of your home?" Miles asked getting Ashe to giggle in response. "…I don't think its funny…"

"Its not, but instead of thinking of it as a burden…why not think of it as an opportunity?" Ashe offered waving her hand up slightly. "I mean…there are so many different paths that you can choose, kid."

"Okay…that's being broad," Miles sighed lowering his head while Riolu made a small reach for Miles's food…until Miles slapped Riolu's paw. "You already ate Riolu."

"_-Hey! I'm a growing pokemon! I need to eat!-_" Riolu protested crossing his paws over his chest, but that's when Riolu noticed the yellow scarf around Ashe's neck, and immediately his attitude changed. "_-…nice…hey, Miles. What's thing around her neck?-_"

"Huh? Oh, it's a scarf Riolu," Miles replied before turning back to Ashe. "So…if what path did you chose then Ashe?"

"Hmm," Ashe seemed to be deep in thought about the question… "Well, I started off as a trainer, but then I branched out into being a coordinator. Of course, I've been occasionally a troubadour, a breeder, club leader…"

A few question marks appeared over both Miles and Riolu's heads, being both new to this trainer business, they had no idea what any of Ashe was getting at. "Uh…right. I forgot I was talking to a greenhorn here."

"Well, allow me to explain with a little drawing," Ashe continued lifting up a small mechanical pencil to draw on the placemat that she was using.

When she was finished, Miles and Riolu blinked a few times at what Ashe had finished drawing. There at least five different pictures that were separated by five lines. Then using the mechanical pencil as a pointer, Ashe pointed towards the first picture…which oddly looked Riolu, only dressed in Miles's current clothes with a pokeball in his paws. "The basic path is basically being a trainer. As you are probably no doubt aware, trainers train their pokemon to be the best. Most trainers decide to take the league challenge to try their hand at the best they can be."

Then moving to the next drawing, Miles and Riolu sweatdropped because the next one looked to be Siegfried dressed up as Ashe herself and behind the bird pokemon was a large pink ribbon. "Coordinators are more specialized trainers, they often compete in the contests to show off the beauty in pokemon as well as train their pokemon to get to the grand festival."

"Any questions before I continue?"

"Just one," Miles replied tilting his head to the side. "What's up with the drawings?"

"Oh, you like them? I used to draw caricatures," Ashe said graciously with a large bright smile on her face as she pointed to the next drawing. "But let's continue…"

Somehow…that probably wasn't what Miles was getting at…

The next drawing had a pokemon that had a red and blue flower for hands with a green plant like body that was covered in a long dark brown cloak with a fancy brown hat. "…a lot of trainers become wanderers…or troubadours as they like to be called. They mostly study abroad around our region."

Pointing towards the next picture, Ashe had drawn a picture of what appeared to be a bored looking purple frog like pokemon wearing a green shirt with a brown vest and pants with a large egg behind it. "Breeders actually train pokemon for other people and businesses, In order for them to succeed; they need to have a vast knowledge of how many different types of pokemon differ from each other."

The last picture had a blue crocodile like pokemon with red scales on its back while dressed in a blue and white striped shirt with baggy blue pants while it had a blue bandana over its large eyes. "And clubs are usually formed when a group of people have a common interest for pokemon. The interest can be as broad as a certain color of a pokemon, location, or type. And it can be as specific as a certain pokemon."

Then placing the placemat on the table, Ashe leaned backwards with a smile on her face. "Of course, you're able to mold your own destiny! I've even heard that there's a band of Pokemon Pirates…and a village of ninja who train with their pokemon!"

"…great…even more freaks," Miles commented making Ashe laugh loudly.

"Ah don't worry, those are just rumors I heard about," Ashe chuckled rubbing the bridge of her nose. "So…any idea what you're going to become?"

"Actually…I still don't know," Miles admitted rubbing the back of his head while Riolu finally managed to snatch away some of Miles's food. "Hey, Riolu!"

"_-Ya snooze ya lose Miles!-_" Riolu laughed after swallowing the food he had snatched easily.

"You two will definitely make any path interesting," Ashe giggled making both Miles and Riolu sweatdrop. "May I make a suggestion?"

"We're open to anything," Miles replied while slapping Riolu's paw away from his plate once more. "Knock it off Riolu…"

"You two should start off with the league's challenge, battling the gym leaders of this region," Ashe suggested wagging her finger at the trainer and pokemon, both of them having different reactions. "More than likely you'll be able to find what your calling is, even if you were forced to be a trainer."

"_-Sounds cool to me!-_" Riolu announced pumping his paw into the air.

"You don't get to make the choice Riolu," Miles pointed out making Riolu pout slightly. "Maybe I'll have to take you up on that suggestion…especially since I don't really know what I'm going to do…"

"Good for you kid," Ashe congratulated with a smile on her face.

"Just one question…" Miles sighed shaking his head as Riolu jumped into his lap and rubbed his head up against Miles's chest. "…do you have any idea where I should start?"

"Well, since you've chosen to be a trainer, then that means you'll want to take the gym battle challenge," Ashe thought out loud rubbing her chin. "The nearest gym for you would have to be in Burgundy Town, and you can get to there from the Tempest Forest East of here."

"_-Sounds like a walk in the park!-_" Riolu announced pumping his arm into the air.

"Seems like your Riolu has quite a lot of spirit," Ashe giggled before scratching the side of her cheek.

"I don't know where he got it from," Miles admitted lowering his head.

"You should probably prepare yourself kiddo," Ashe warned standing up from her seat, with an empty bowl (when did she eat?). "So perhaps you should spend the rest of the day at the shopping arcade in Temp Town, then head to Burgundy Town. If you give me a minute, I'll write down what you'll need."

"Not that I don't mind," Miles started scratching Riolu's head, making the fox pokemon's tail whip around in joy. "…but why are you helping me?"

"Is it wrong to give a newbie a push in the right direction?" Ashe questioned with a sly look on her face. "Besides…even if you can't see it…you've definitely got a spark inside of ya kiddo…"

"Yeah, well… I still don't get it," Miles sighed lowering his head as Riolu did the same.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 10:05 am_

_Location: Temp Town_

_Shopping Arcade_

"Let's see…potions, antidotes, pokeballs, map of Tempest Forest…" Miles muttered looking over the list he had received from Ashe in one hand, while holding the bag of supplies he had bough in the other. "…at this rate, I should be able to get maybe at least halfway through that forest."

Stopping in the middle of the people filled street, Miles stood in his tracks pocketing the note to place his hand to his chin. "…but, what I don't get…is why Ashe suggested me to go tomorrow?"

"What do you think Riolu?"

…

"Riolu?"

…

"Damn it! Where the hell did he go?" Miles shouted getting a few surprised stares at him from the nearby passerby.

When the two had reached the rather large shopping arcade, Riolu had been sitting on top of Miles's backpack…but now…

"Do I have to put him on a leash?" Miles muttered lowering his head.

"_-Miles! Miles!-_"

"Huh?" Miles questioned as the small blue fighting pokemon ran up to Miles…and it looked like he had a small red, tattered scarf in his paws. "Where in the world did you get to, Riolu?!"

"_-Miles! Miles! Look! Look!-_" Riolu shouted lifting up the rather large (when compared to Riolu) red scarf up to Miles. "_-Look what I found! Isn't it cool!?-_"

"…how do you learn these things?" Miles muttered to himself before shaking his head to kneel down to pet Riolu's head. "I mean…why do you have a scarf with you?"

"_-I saw that lady's scarf and I wanted one for myself! It's so cool!-_" Riolu barked slowly wrapping scarf around his neck, making it look like he had a dual cape around his neck. "_-What do you think Miles?-_"

"…honestly, you look like a cheesy super hero," Miles replied with a large sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head.

"_-You're just jealous cause I've got style now…-_" Riolu scoffed striking a dramatic pose that make the sweatdrop on Miles's head grow.

"Where'd you get this thing anyway?" Miles asked pulling on the scarf a few times, only to get his hand slapped away by Riolu.

"_-That doesn't matter! Right now we should leave at this instant!-_" Riolu shouted jumping onto Miles's shoulder.

"…Riolu…did something happen?" Miles questioned with a distrusting look on his face.

"_-N-No! I…I just want to get to our first challenge!-_" Riolu defended waving his arms in the air. "_-So…let's just get out of this town!-_"

"HEY! Hold it right there! Thief!"

"…Riolu…you didn't…" Miles sighed slapping his forehead turning around to see a dark haired man who looked to be in his early thirties with shaggy black hair wearing merchant's clothing running towards him. "…great…I'm an accessory to theft…"

"There it is!" The merchant shouted pointing at Riolu, or more specifically, the scarf that was around Riolu's neck. "Young man, are you the trainer of this thief?" 

"Unfortunately…yeah," Miles sighed shaking his head at the Merchant's outburst. Honestly, Miles never expected Riolu to steal something…seemed like he was getting all the luck around here…

"That little thief stole that scarf from my stand," the merchant continued crossing his arms over his chest. "As his trainer, you should take responsibility for your pokemon's actions!"

"_-I should keep that in mind…-_" Riolu muttered out loud while rubbing his chin…

…only to receive a bonk on the head courtesy of Miles. "Alright…and what exactly did you have in mind?"

"You could pay for the scarf…" the merchant offered with a smirk on his face. "Or…you could work at my shop till the cost is filled…"

"Well…can't I return the scarf?" Miles questioned reaching for the scarf, only to have Riolu slap his hand away.

"_-No! Pay the man!-_" Riolu snapped getting a death glare from Miles.

"Fine…how much is the scarf?" Miles asked as the merchant leaned towards him to whisper into Miles's ear.

…

"WHAT!? HOW COULD A SCARF COST THAT MUCH!?" Miles shouted scaring Riolu…that scarf must've been worth quite a lot.

"Simple really," the Merchant replied wagging his finger. "I own a shop that sells pokemon accessories. Your little thief stole an experimental item known as the Battle Scarf…so, since I'm guessing that you don't have the money, you'll be working for me for a while…"

That's when Miles's eye caught sight of something that was clipped to the Merchant's belt. '_Well…what could it hurt?'_

"I challenge you to a battle!" Miles stuttered out pointing his finger towards the surprised Merchant.

"…are you serious kid?" The Merchant asked raising an eyebrow. "You want a battle?"

"Well…I just thought that people often settled disputes with pokemon battles," Miles chuckled while rubbing the back of his head. "So, I was thinking that if we battled, you win, I'll work for you for two weeks. But if I win…then, you drop the charges."

"I'm a businessman! You need to have another condition!" The Merchant scoffed turning his head to the side.

"Fine! Then…how about all the cash I have left, and everything I bought today?" Miles offered noticing the evil smile on the merchant's face. '_…that can't be good…'_

"Deal kid!" The Merchant laughed slamming his fist to his chest. "Now, I assume you'll be using the little thief, right?"

"You ready for our first battle Riolu?" Miles asked as Riolu leapt off his shoulder lifting his paws up in a fighter's stance. "Especially since you're the cause of this…

"_-You bet! I'll earn my keep!-_" Riolu barked throwing a few punches into the air.

"Seems your little thief is ready," The merchant chuckled lifting up his pokeball, before throwing it into the air. "And so is my Machop!"

From midair, the pokeball opened up to release the merchant's pokemon that landed on the ground. When the pokemon stood up, the gray human shaped pokemon performed a muscle man pose that displayed his strength…even though its muscles were not fully developed. "Ma chop!"

"…great…two fighting pokemon fighting each other…" Miles sighed before shaking his head. "Riolu! Let's end this quick! Use Quick Attack!"

"_-Right!-_" Riolu shouted before charging in a fast blur towards the smirking Machop.

"Heh…wait for it…" The merchant advised his Machop…

"Ma…"

About to land a punch to his opponent, Riolu kept his speed up until… "Now! Low Kick!"

At the last second, the Machop ducked down, barely dodging Riolu's fist. Then, taking advantage of Riolu's surprise, the Machop launched a powerful kick that skidded on the ground before making knocking both of Riolu's hind legs off the ground.

With a loud slam to the ground, Riolu barked slightly in pain while the Machop just laughed loudly. The merchant laughed as well raising his hand up. "Looks like you're still wet behind the ears kid! Machop! Brick Break!"

Raising its right hand into the air, the overconfident Machop's right hand began to glow a slight reddish color before slamming his fist into Riolu's stomach. The force itself caused Riolu to howl loudly. "_-ARGH!-_"

"Riolu!" Miles shouted before the Machop jumped backwards from his opponent.

"Too bad kid…" The merchant chuckled as his Machop chuckled as well. "Maybe you should give up before your little thief gets too badly bruised…"

"…" Miles was silent as he lowered his head…maybe he should surrender; Miles didn't want Riolu to get hurt…

"_-Miles! Tell me what to do!-_" Riolu barked loudly snapping Miles out of his slump! "_-So! Don't you dare chicken out on our first battle!-_"

"Right! Riolu! Stand up!" Miles shouted while Riolu slowly began to stand up, the scarf flowing as he did.

"_-No need to tell me twice…-_" Riolu snickered rubbing his chin. "_-Bring it on!-_"

"I respect ya for getting up," the merchant applauded before his Machop charged forward, his right hand glowing red again. "But we'll knock ya right back down! Machop! Brick Break once more!"

"Riolu! Wait for it…" Miles announced surprising everyone who was watching the battle, including Riolu.

"_-What!?-_" Riolu shouted as Machop was getting closer and closer.

"Just trust me!" Miles shouted back…

…getting a small smirk and a nod from Riolu. "_-Gotcha!-_"

"I don't know what you're planning…" The merchant muttered as Machop was just a foot away from Riolu with his attack. "…but it won't work, kiddo! Machop! Finish it!"

"…we'll see…" Miles smiled as Machop launched his attack. "Now, Riolu! Quick Attack while he's close up!"

In a blue and red blur, Riolu immediately delivered a powerful kick to Machop's chin, stopping the fighting pokemon's attack and sending it flying slightly into the air. And seeing his pokemon in the air, the merchant's mouth opened widely in surprise. "W-what!?"

"And now! Riolu! Quick Attack while he's in the air!" Miles commanded as Riolu crouched down before using his legs to propel into the air.

"_-This is for the punch to the gut!-_" Riolu barked spinning in the air next to Machop. Then, using the spin's force, Riolu slammed his foot into Machop's stomach, forcing the other fighting pokemon to plummet towards the ground at a fast rate.

SLAM!

"MACHOP!" the Machop yelped when it's back slammed into the ground.

"…whoa…" the merchant gasped as Riolu landed on the ground softly, the scarf leaving a trail in the air. "Heh…that was unexpected…"

"_-And it was cool!-_" Riolu laughed turning towards Miles. "_-…but that wait was a little too cool…-_"

"Says the pokemon with a fashion statement," Miles retorted, not noticing that Machop was standing back up, a little angry this time.

"In case you forgot…we've still have a battle going on!" The merchant shouted snapping his fingers at Machop. "But…Machop! Take this opportunity and deliver a powerful Low Kick!"

Charging towards the preoccupied Riolu, Machop jumped into the air, prepared to slam its foot into Riolu's head…

"Counter!"

…until Riolu managed to catch the Machop's foot with both of his paws, surprising both the Merchant and Machop. "_-Ha, ha! You fell for it!-_"

"Let's send him on a little trip, shall we Riolu?" Miles asked before Riolu began to spin on his heels, increasing his speed.

"_-Don't forget to write!-_" Riolu barked releasing his grip on Machop's foot, sending the muscle pokemon flying into the nearby tree with a loud slam.

"Ma-Machop?" the merchant questioned as his Machop slid down the tree with dizzy marks where his eyes should've been. "…awe man…"

"Riolu…we…we won our first battle!" Miles announced with a thumbs up. Even though he didn't want to be a trainer in the first place, Miles had to admit that it was quite an experience with his first win.

"_-Awesome!-_" Riolu yelped leaping back on top of Miles's head…noticing that a lot of people who were watching the battle were clapping for their win as well. "_-Even cooler! I've got fans!-_"

"…who is teaching you these things?" Miles questioned before shaking his head, realizing that the crowd was still clapping for him and Riolu. "Besides…it's for the two of us…"

"Ha! That was great!" The Merchant laughed returning Machop to his pokeball.

A few minutes later when the crowds were back to their shopping, Miles and Riolu were standing in front of the merchant's stand. "Nice battle kiddo! It's been a while since I had a trouncing like that!"

'_This guy likes losing?_' Miles thought shaking that thought from his head. "Well…you're welcome. And I'm sorry if Riolu caused any trouble…"

"_-Hey!-_" Riolu barked scoffing to the side.

"Don't fret about it," the merchant chuckled sitting back into his seat. "Your pokemon can keep the Battle Scarf…but, can I ask for a single favor in return?"

"Sure…" Miles sighed combing his hair with his fingers. Why didn't the merchant just offer Miles to do the errand in the first place…that way they wouldn't have to battle in the first place.

"Excellent…are you by chance heading to Burgundy Town?" the merchant asked getting a nod from Miles. "Good! Then, you mind taking a small package to the mart that's set up in Burgundy Town?"

Placing the small parcel on the counter in front of Miles, Miles smirked while lifting the package. "Sure…I'll take there."

"Good! I'll be sure to contact the mart to let you know ahead of time," the merchant laughed while Miles and Riolu slowly walked away from the merchant.

"_-…that guy was weird…_" Riolu whispered into Miles's ear.

"…yeah…" Miles replied.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Vyser D:** Reviews please!


	4. Chapter 4: The Lost

Vyser: Don't own

**Vyser: **Don't own Pokemon.

Speech Key

Regular –

_Thought –_

-_Pokemon Talk_- -

Through Electronics -

/-/--/-/-/-/-/-/

**Chapter 4 **

**The Lost**

/--/--/-/-/-/

_Time: 11:07_

_Location: Tempest Forest_

"-_Yay! This place is totally awesome!-_"

It had been at least a good forty-five minutes since Miles had left the shopping arcade in Temp Town, the package in hand and Riolu fully healed from his battle with the weird merchant…

…there was only one problem…

"Riolu…we're lost…" Miles admitted pulling down the map to reveal his confused face.

Miles was never good maps…hence one of the many reasons why he hated being forced to be a trainer.

"_-Ah, just relax Miles.-_" Riolu cooed with a smirk as he leaned on the back of Miles's head looking left and right to see the many trees that seemed to block a large amount of the sun, creating a cool scene that had a slight breeze to it. "_-It's a nice day…a cool breeze…walking in the shade…it's not really a problem if we take our time…-_"

"…yeah…but," Miles muttered looking left and right, keeping his eyes on the many bushes that lined the grassy path in the forest.

"_-…wait a minute…what's up with you?-_" Riolu asked jumping on Miles's head with a sneer on his face.

"N-Nothing…" Miles replied shaking his head. "It's none of your business anyway…"

"-_Oh! Now I get it!-_" Riolu snickered rubbing his chin. "_-Are you afraid that those birds will come back?-_"

"No, it's just…" Miles sighed stopping in the middle of the path. "…I just want to get out of here…"

"_-…that can't be right,-_" Riolu protested waving his arms in the air.

"Riolu drop it!" Miles sighed slapping his forehead.

"_-Hey! This'll be a long journey if you're not willing to talk,-_" Riolu pointed out…and the small pokemon did have a good argument.

"Yeah…but, don't worry about it," Miles replied slapping his forehead. "We've got bigger things to worry about, like how we're going to get out of…"

"_-Come on!-_" Riolu pouted wagging his tail widely. "_-Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!-_"

"No Riolu!" Miles sighed lifting reaching back to lift Riolu off his backpack and onto the ground. "Now listen, I'm not in the mood to talk…"

"_-Yeesh, I'm just a young pup,-_" Riolu moaned falling on his legs with a small sad look on his face. "_-Shouldn't you be at least nice to me since I'm younger?-_"

"Look, I'll admit that you've managed to win a battle easily, and take down a few Pidgey," Miles retorted, not noticing that a few yellow and green cocoon like pokemon began to lower themselves on some webbing from the trees above, hanging in mid-air behind him. "…but, in the first two days that we've been together, you've managed to develop a weird attitude and personality!"

"_-…uh, Miles…-_" Riolu started lifting his paw up as more and more of the cocoon pokemon began to lower down behind Miles.

"Don't interrupt me, Riolu," Miles growled slightly crossing his arms. "You left me with some feral birds, stole my lunch, stole a scarf, and you've got me running an errand for a weird merchant…"

"-_Miles…I think that you should…-_" Riolu tried to warn as some green and orange worm like pokemon began to crawl down the threads. The green worms had large black eyes with pink antennae while the orange worms had a small spike on their heads.

"I swear! Why did my dad do this to me?!" Miles shouted into the air, not noticing that a large amount of the bugs began to look at the shouting pre-teen.

"_-MILES! LOOK BEHIND YOU!-_" Riolu shouted throwing his paws into the air.

"What! What could possibly…" Miles started turning around to come face to face with the small army of bugs that looked back at him. "…be…b…b…b-b-b-b…"

"BUGS!"

A few minutes later…

Breathing deeply a few times, Miles slumped next to the tree he managed to run to in the short time he managed to get away from the army of bugs. "D-dang bugs…why…why!?"

"_-Heh! Now I get it!-_" Riolu laughed from seemingly no where.

Shifting his head to the left and right, Miles tried to see where Riolu's voice was coming from. "Riolu? Where are you?"

Then, popping up seemingly from no where, Riolu smirked at Miles raising one of the green worm-like pokemon over his head. "_-You're afraid of bugs!-_"

"ACK! Get that thing away from me!" Miles shouted standing up from Riolu and the green worm-like pokemon.

"_-What's the matter? Are you going to let an insect bug you?-_" Riolu laughed placing the small green worm on the ground that slowly crawled towards Miles slightly. "_-Hey! You know what you should do?-_"

"Call an exterminator?" Miles questioned taking a step away from the crawling bug pokemon that seemed to follow Miles.

"_-Nah! You should catch this thing,-_" Riolu replied patting his chest with his paw. "_-I mean, you are a trainer after all, and you should start off with this little guy.-_"

"NO! NO!" Miles shouted jumping back. "I'm not catching a bug!"

"_-Fine!-_" Riolu barked before jumping towards Miles, immediately reaching for his trainer's belt.

"What in the world are you doing!?" Miles shouted about to slap Riolu away, until the lamentation pulled back with a pokeball in his paws.

"_-If you're not going to catch the bug, I'll do it for ya!-_" Riolu answered turning towards the green worm pokemon raising the pokeball into the air.

"NO! Riolu! I don't want a bug as the first pokemon I caught!" Miles shouted grabbing the pokeball from Riolu's paws, but still unable to get the fighting pokemon to let go of the weird ball.

"_-It's not going to kill you!-_" Riolu shouted back while pulling back the pokeball.

The small worm pokemon just sat there, turning its head left and right as the pokemon and human in front of him were pulling at something.

"For the last time, no!" Miles shouted yanking the pokeball with a large amount of force…unfortunately; his grip wasn't strong enough so he accidentally threw the pokeball towards the bug pokemon. "NO!"

Then, the pokeball bounced off the bug pokemon's head, immediately opening to turn the insect into a beam of red light that was sucked into the ball. Miles held his breath as the ball rocked back and forth a few times. "No, no, no! Get out of there!"

CLICK!

"_-Yeah! We caught a pokemon!-_" Riolu cheered jumping to the pokeball to lift in his paws. "_-Victory!! We're number one! We…Miles? Are you okay?-_"

Sitting on the ground up against the tree, Miles had a look of almost pure fear on his face. "DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M OKAY!?"

"-_Yeesh, what's your deal?-_" Riolu asked carrying the pokeball towards Miles who lowered his head.

"…let's jut say that bugs don't really agree with me," Miles sighed lowering his head at his confused Riolu.

"_-You mind filling me in?-_" Riolu asked jumping onto Miles lap with the pokeball still in his paws.

"…you're just going bug me until I tell you, right?" Miles asked shaking his head at Riolu.

"_-You catch on quick!-_" Riolu barked slightly raising his arm up in a victorious pose.

"Alright…you see," Miles sighed remembering back. "It was maybe five years ago, my old man wanted to take me to see our local forest. I really think that you wouldn't know this, but there are several regions in our world…"

"_-How big is this world anyway?-_" Riolu asked blinking.

"Well…you'd be surprised," Miles chuckled rubbing his chin. "What comes to mind with regions…there's Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Orre, and Saora. Each with their individual environments, pokemon and league…anyway, I come from the Hoenn region, and my dad wanted to take me to a forest to show me where he first met my mom.

"Unfortunately, there was a commotion where some thief was trying to steal some important products from an employee from a high tech company. My dad told me to stay where I was to see if he could help out…"

"…but, I didn't listen. In fact, I think I was scared of being alone in the forest so I tried to find my dad. Instead, I wandered into a large nest of bug pokemon…and unfortunately, they didn't take kindly to me wandering into their territory."

"_-Ooh! What happened next?-_" Riolu asked with a slightly concerned look on his face.

"…when my dad found me," Miles had a slight blush on his face when he was answering Riolu. "…I was…I was practically a Kakuna…"

"_-HAHAHAHAHA!-_" Riolu laughed rolling off of Miles lap and onto the grassy forest floor.

"Yeah…ha ha," Miles scoffed rubbing his forehead in embarrassment. "Way to laugh at your trainer…"

"-_Aw you know its all in good fun,-_" Riolu finished laughing wiping a tear from his eyes. Then immediately, Riolu lifted up the worm pokemon's pokeball to Miles, freaking his trainer out slightly. "_-Besides! You can see this as an opportunity, like that lady told you about when we saw her!-_"

"ACK! Keep that away from me!" Miles shouted jumping away from his pokemon partner.

/-/-/-/--/-/-/-

_Time: 11:19_

_Location: Tempest Forest_

After forcing Riolu into his pokeball, Miles was back on the main path that he managed to find…

…of course, he was slowed down by eyeing the pokeball that had the worm pokemon (he looked in his Pokedex and found that it was a Caterpie) in it. "…see this as an opportunity?"

Throwing the ball into the air, the pokeball opened up to allow the Caterpie to appear before Miles (still sending a few chills up his back). The worm pokemon tilted its head towards Miles before crawling slightly towards Miles. "Cater?"

"Uh…hello?" Miles gulped waving towards the bug pokemon.

"_-Don't be shy Miles!-_" Riolu announced making Miles jump slightly into the air.

"RIOLU!?" Miles shouted turning around to glare at his pokemon. Because of that, Miles didn't see that Caterpie was slowly crawling up his leg. "I thought I put you back in your pokeball?!"

"_-I don't like cramped places,-_" Riolu replied playing with the scarf in his paws. "_-Anyway, if you can deal with me, you should be able to deal with Caterpie.-_"

"…I guess that's true," Miles admitted just realizing that Caterpie was sitting on his shoulder. "… …AAAHHHH!"

SLAM!

"_-Miles!? Are you okay?-_" Riolu shouted running up to his fallen trainer. Shaking Miles a few times, Riolu realized that Miles was knocked out…as was determined by the very dazed look on his face.

"_-…um…excuse me…-_"

"_-Huh?-_" Riolu questioned turning towards Miles's shoulder, seeing that Caterpie was crawling towards him.

"_-…d-did I do something wrong?-_" Caterpie asked lowering her head down with a sad look in her large black eyes. "_-I-I didn't mean to have him go down…-_"

"_Whoa…it's a girl Caterpie…_" Riolu thought pulling his scarf slightly. "_-Uh…no, I think he's just having a recurring nightmare about some other bugs…nothing against you.-_"

"_-Oh, uh, that's…that's good…-_" Caterpie sighed raising her head up.

"_-Uh, yeah…-_" Riolu muttered rubbing the back of his head. "_-Anyway, welcome to team Miles! Team leader standing before you is none other than me, Riolu!-_"

After tilting her head slightly, Caterpie turned towards Miles with a curious look on her face. "_-Um, I don't know if I'm right…but, if the team is Team Miles, shouldn't that make him the leader?-_"

"_-Nah, he's just the trainer…or manager of the team,-_" Riolu chuckled rubbing the top of Caterpie's head with his paw. "_-Either way, welcome! You're our first recruit!-_"

"_-T-Thanks,-_" Caterpie stuttered lowering her head as if she was bowing to her superior.

"Uhhh…" Miles groaned sitting up straight while rubbing the side of his head. "What's going on?" 

"-_Miles!-_" Riolu shouted jumping into Miles's chest, forcing the trainer to lose his breath slightly.

"OOF!"

"_-Hey! Caterpie! Join the party!-_"

"_-Oh, uh, alright…-_"

"ACK! NO!"

/-/-/--/-/-/--/-/

_Time: 11:43 a.m._

_Location: Tempest Forest,_

"_-Miles…don't you think you're being…-_" Riolu started tapping Miles on the shoulder.

"I don't want to hear it Riolu," Miles snapped keeping his sight on the path before him.

"_-But come on,-_" Riolu pouted turning back to see Caterpie trailing Miles, a small tear appearing in the corner of her large eyes. "_-Do you really intend to leave her crawling behind you?-_"

"…her?" Miles questioned slowing down a touch as he walked.

"_-That's what you generally refer to girls,-_" Riolu replied crossing his arms. "_-Anyway, you should…-_"

"Riolu, it's lucky that I'm even keeping Caterpie," Miles muttered towards Riolu. "I'd keep her in the pokeball, but, since you've managed to get out…"

"_-Just because I'm able to, that doesn't mean she'll do that,-_" Riolu retorted wagging his paw at Miles. "_-Besides, we're both young and you should treat Caterpie with the same amount of respect that you do to me.-_"

"So basically, barely any right?" Miles replied with a dulled look on his face.

"-_Ha! Good one, Miles!-_" Riolu laughed jumping off of Miles's shoulder and standing in front of his trainer with his arms crossed. "_-Now then…what are you going to do?-_"

"…" Miles just stopped in his tracks and rubbed his chin. "…I was thinking maybe lunch…"

Meanwhile…in another part of the forest…

"GRRR!"

"Come on…hurry up."

"I don't see you helping!"

"And ruin the nail polish I just applied? No thank you."

With a slight growl, the mysterious young man placed the large box that he was carrying on his muscular shoulders onto the grassy ground. Panting a few times, the young man combed a sleek hand through his long, spiky red hair while he shot a glare at his companion. "Dang girl…she's the most annoying person I've ever met…if she ever knew I thought that, she'd skin me alive."

"…Ikki, you're thinking out loud again," the girl sighed loudly with a blood vessel appearing on the left side of her head.

"…uh oh…" 'Ikki' muttered kneeling down behind the box in an attempt to hide himself from his sandy haired companion. "Uh, listen Lena, anger causes wrinkles…"

"Ikki…" 'Lena' growled appearing behind Ikki scaring the crimson haired young man.

"AAAHH!" Ikki shouted jumping up. "L-L-Lena! Please! I don't want to get hurt again!"

"And you call yourself a man…" Lena sighed narrowing her eyes at Ikki.

The echoes of pain seemed to be lost in the many trees, for as Miles was preparing an apple for himself. Then, with a couple of handkerchiefs he had, Miles had some Poke Chow that he got at the shopping arcade in Temp Town for Riolu and Caterpie…

…of course, Miles was seated a few feet from Caterpie and Riolu. "_-Miles! Come on and sit next to us!-_"

"Riolu, how many times do I have to explain this?" Miles sighed rubbing the apple against his jacket. "You have to give me a little time to get used to Caterpie…"

With a small sniffle, Caterpie lowered her head to eat the food that Miles had given her. Seeing this, Riolu narrowed his eyes and knelt down to Caterpie. "-_Hey…don't worry about it…in fact; I've got an idea…-"_

"_-R-Really?-_" Caterpie questioned with her eyes looking filled with a little hope as Riolu began to whisper to her.

Taking a bite of his apple, Miles looked up to stare at the sky through the tree branches, his mind currently flashing slightly. '_…I wonder…I wonder what my dad's up to? He's probably annoying Prof. Pine to no end._

'…_but what really interests me…is where Valerie and Kurai are. Kurai…not so much.'_

"_-Hey! Miles!-_" Riolu announced breaking Miles out of his train of thought.

"Huh? What?" Miles questioned blinking a few times as Riolu jumped in his lap. "Oh, what's up Riolu?"

"_-Got seconds?-_" Riolu asked lifting up the handkerchief that had his food (or what it was in) to Miles.

"Oh, yeah, just let me look," Miles replied reaching for his backpack. As soon Miles pulled it towards him, the trainer looked into the backpack trying to find some of the Poke chow. "Ah, here you go…Ah, ah, ah…"

"_-Hey Miles, I think she might want some food,-_" Riolu chuckled gesturing towards Caterpie who had taken his place on Miles's lap.

"_-…I'm s-sorry,-_" Caterpie stated lowering her head. "_-I-I was just d-doing what Riolu told me…I'll get away from you now…-_"

But, just before Caterpie could scurry off of Miles's lap, a hand was placed upon her head, surprising the small bug pokemon. "Um, well…don't…don't be so fast."

"_-Yeah!-_" Riolu shouted jumping next to Caterpie on Miles's lap. "_-Ha! Looks like you're all good with bugs now!-_"

"…it's not that easy to get over a fear, Riolu," Miles sighed lowering his head as he carefully stroked Caterpie's head. "But…at least I'll try…but, if a large swarm of bugs comes at me again, don't expect me to stick around…"

"_-Yeah…that reminds me, what were all those bugs doing together?-_" Riolu asked turning towards Caterpie.

"We probably just walked into their territory," Miles offered as an explanation to the insect pokemon's' behavior.

"_-A-Actually, in this forest,-_" Caterpie explained a little bit turning towards the woods. "_-Bug pokemon are afraid of humans…-_"

"So we can tell…" Miles muttered slightly rolling his eyes. '_Could've fooled me…'_

"_-…but…a couple of humans came by earlier,-_" Caterpie continued, not hearing what Miles had said. "_-They both started arguing, a-and they had destroyed a little bit of our t-territory…I-it was kinda scary, a small girl managed to take down the big guy, and in that wrath…well, our territory will never be the same…-_"

"_-Well, I know that Miles wouldn't do something like that,-_" Riolu thought out loud, rubbing his scarf with his paw. "_-…at least, I think he didn't do that…-_"

"Riolu, I was with you all the time since we entered this forest," Miles sighed shaking his head. "Besides, we're currently traveling alone in here. But, as you were saying Caterpie?"

"_-Oh, uh…well,-_" Caterpie stated looking away slightly from Miles. "_-…y-you see, after we scared y-you, I w-wanted to m-make sure that you two were okay…a-and as you can see, I'm n-now a part of your team…-_"

"I guess that explains a little," Miles muttered carefully placing both Riolu and Caterpie on the ground. "…but, we don't have time to investigate this…I'd rather get out of this forest. No offense, Caterpie, but I'm still not comfortable with all the insects surrounding me…"

"_-N-None taken…-_" Caterpie replied as Miles slowly knelt down with both of his arms placed in front of Riolu and Caterpie.

"So, both of, I suppose we should get out of here," Miles stated with a slight smile on his face as Riolu leapt onto Miles's shoulder. Caterpie on the other hand was a little skeptical. "…come on Caterpie. I don't bite."

Slowly, but surely, Caterpie crawled up Miles's arm, heading towards his shoulder…all the while making Miles twitch slightly with the bug pokemon's touch. '_IRK! Still slimy and gross…but, I'll have to make do…'_

"ACK! HELP ME!"

"Huh?" Miles questioned as he, Riolu and Caterpie turned their heads to the right to see the bushes all being pushed away, allowing a very unique person to run through the bushes with a large box on his shoulders.

The person himself was quite large and muscular…although his smooth face topped with long spiky red hair didn't seem go with his body, along with the bandages on his chin and cheek. His rather large body was covered with a large white and gray jacket with ripped sleeves, a black shirt and dark gray cargo pants with a large black belt. But the large box on his shoulders still caught Miles's attention.

"Oh! A person!" Ikki announced slowing down slightly to stare at Miles and his two pokemon. "He should probably run, otherwise he'll get caught in the wrath of a woman…although, he probably be a good distraction for my escape. Good thing he can't hear my thoughts, otherwise, I might get unlucky..."

"…huh? Buddy, you're speaking your thoughts," Miles stated with a dulled look on his face while Ikki had a very surprised look on his face.

"WHAT!? NO! Why do I keep doing tha…" Ikki started…

"IKKI! Where are you!?"

That voice made Ikki's skin crawl and sent a look of pure terror to his face. "AH…Ah! Gotta run!"

With a large cloud of dust streaming behind him, Ikki ran off into the forest with a great speed that made Miles, Riolu and Caterpie sweatdrop at the weird man's behavior. "…what would possess a man to run that fast?"

"Hey! Runt!"

Turning back to where Ikki had leapt out, Miles was met with a young, short sandy blonde haired girl standing near the bushes with a nasty scowl on her face. The girl was dressed in a similar fashion as Ikki was, with the same basic color scheme, but she was wearing a white vest and a long black sleeved shirt. "…I'm only going to ask this once…have you seen a red haired guy with a large box on his back run through here?"

"Y-yeah," Miles admitted pointing towards the general area where Ikki ran towards.

"Thanks runt," Lena scowled slowly walking in the direction that Miles pointed to. "Oh, Ikki…if you stop running now, I'll let you keep all your teeth…"

As soon as Lena disappeared in the forest, Miles shook his head slightly and his two pokemon looked at him. "_-R-Riolu, are most humans crazy? Ah, I-I mean, b-besides Miles of course…-_"

"_-Yeah, Miles seems to be the only sane human,-_" Riolu chuckled rubbing his chin slightly. "_-Of course, his dad's crazy so it might just be a matter of time before he goes of the deep end…-_"

"…Geez, thanks for crediting my species," Miles muttered lowering his head in shame that Riolu might actually be right someday. "Please don't compare me to my father."

"_-Um…I know you said we don't have time…-_" Caterpie stuttered getting both Miles and Riolu's attention. "_-B-But those two were the ones w-who disturbed the habitat…-_"

"What?" Miles questioned raising an eyebrow. '_So…in an indirect way, those two are the reasons why _

/-/-/-/-/-/--/-/

_Time: 12:13 p.m._

_Location: Outside Tempest Forest_

"Now then Ikki…" Lena chuckled lifting her foot from a beaten and battered Ikki's face. "I think you've got something to say to me."

"…the pain…" Ikki moaned rubbing his face a little bit.

"Close enough," Lena muttered shaking her head at Ikki's response. "Now then…let's hurry up, and get into town…"

"Um, Lena," Ikki groaned slightly lifting his hand up.

"What? Can't it wait?" Lena asked with a loud sigh.

"But…" Ikki started…

…until Lena began moving her head left in right, searching for something. "…Ikki…where's the box you had?"

"…well…ya see, you kicked me before we got out of the forest," Ikki sighed slowly sitting up rubbing the back of his head. "So…in my blaze of pain, the box must've been left in the forest. But thanks to you, I wasn't able to pick it up to carry out of the forest…"

Before Ikki could speak his mind again, a powerful kick to his chest sent him back to the ground, courtesy of Lena. "Y-You lost the package!? IDIOT!"

"…It's not like I had a chance to pick the box up, especially since I was being chased by a crazy woman," Ikki chuckled crossing his arms over his chest. "I thought I understood women…but then again, women are never the sa…"

"YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO SHUT UP!" Lena shouted slamming her foot again into the young man's chest.

"OOF!" Ikki shouted, this time losing his breath from the force.

"If we don't find that package…" Lena muttered with a chill crawling up her spine as many different outcomes popped into her head. "…this is all your fault!"

With that Ikki immediately leapt to his feet with a fiery look in his eyes, just as fiery as his hair was. "LOOK! You weren't the one who had a crazy person chasing after you with a malice intention!" 

"And you forgot…" Lena growled cracking her fist slightly. "…that 'crazy person' is standing right in front of you!"

"…uh, oh…" Ikki gulped…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

/--/-/--/-/-/-/

_Time: 12: 18 p.m._

_Location: Tempest Forest,_

_Near Exit_

"_-…and then we got chased by a large amount of Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot,-_" Riolu snickered while making Miles sweatdrop by the recent events that happened just hours ago. Apparently, Riolu was telling Caterpie what had happen before they had even entered the forest. "_-And you won't believe what happens next!-_"

"_-O-Oh, please don't stop telling the story!-_" Caterpie announced into the air with a look of pure joy. She thought that the story was actually made up…

…but we know better…

Miles on the other hand…didn't like having his life being told like a storybook. However, he did enjoy the slight attention like anyone normal would. "Hey, Riolu, how about we tell Caterpie how you ran off instead of running like the proud fighter you make yourself to be…"

"_-Uh…let's not…-_" Riolu whistled with a slight blush on his blue face as he turned to the side while Miles and Caterpie snickered slightly.

"_-W-Well…it looks like i-its going to be interesting with y-you two,-_" Caterpie giggled noticing that Riolu was looking at something. "_-I-Is something the m-matter Riolu?-_"

"_-Just starring at that weird box,-_" Riolu answered pointing towards a box that looked to be almost thrown towards a tree.

"Hmm, look at that," Miles muttered turning towards the box…in a sense, it actually looked more like a makeshift coffin to Miles at least. '_Wait…where have I seen that before?'_

"_-Let's open it!-_" Riolu announced throwing a paw into the air.

"That's an invasion of privacy you realize," Miles sighed shaking his head before Riolu jumped from his shoulder.

"_-A what?-_" Riolu asked stopping slightly…before running towards the box.

With a blood vessel appearing over his right eye, Miles slapped his forehead at his pokemon's actions. "Riolu! Do you have to commit two crimes in the same day?"

"_-It's not a crime unless you get caught,-_" Riolu pointed out wagging his paw at Miles before turning back to the box with a starry look in his eyes. "_-Now then…-_"

"Oh no, you don't!" Miles shouted lifting Riolu up by his scarf before the fox like pokemon was able to open the box. "We've got our own package to deliver thanks to you…and frankly, I'm not interested in getting in trouble cause of you again!"

"_-Ah, come on! Where's your curiosity?-_" Riolu pouted trying to get free from his scarf (unsuccessfully) by wagging around.

"_-Um, does this happen a lot?-_" Caterpie asked getting Miles to look back at her.

"…Well, this is still our first day," Miles sighed shaking his head from Riolu's actions. "Anyway, this box kinda look familiar…wasn't that guy…"

"HEY!"

Miles could feel an icy glare being shot into his back, and with a small slap to his forehead, the forced trainer slowly turned around…

…Too be continued…


	5. Chapter 5: The Rookie Experience

Vyser: Don't own Pokemon

**Vyser: **Don't own Pokemon.

Speech Key

Regular –

_Thought –_

-_Pokemon Talk_- -

Through Electronics -

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Chapter 5**

**The Rookie Experience**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"_Hmm, look at that," Miles muttered turning towards the box…in a sense; it actually looked more like a makeshift coffin to Miles at least. 'Wait…where have I seen that before?'_

"_-Let's open it!-" Riolu announced throwing a paw into the air._

"_That's an invasion of privacy you realize," Miles sighed shaking his head before Riolu jumped from his shoulder. _

"_-A what?-" Riolu asked stopping slightly…before running towards the box._

_With a blood vessel appearing over his right eye, Miles slapped his forehead at his pokemon's actions. "Riolu! Do you have to commit two crimes in the same day?"_

"_-It's not a crime unless you get caught,-" Riolu pointed out wagging his paw at Miles before turning back to the box with a starry look in his eyes. "-Now then…-"_

"_Oh no, you don't!" Miles shouted lifting Riolu up by his scarf before the fox like pokemon was able to open the box. "We've got our own package to deliver thanks to you…and frankly, I'm not interested in getting in trouble cause of you again!"_

"_-Ah, come on! Where's your curiosity?-" Riolu pouted trying to get free from his scarf (unsuccessfully) by wagging around. _

"_-Um, does this happen a lot?-" Caterpie asked getting Miles to look back at her._

"…_Well, this is still our first day," Miles sighed shaking his head from Riolu's actions. "Anyway, this box kinda look familiar…wasn't that guy…"_

"_HEY!"_

_Miles could feel an icy glare being shot into his back, and with a small slap to his forehead, the forced trainer slowly turned around…_

…to see Lena standing behind him, with an enraged look on her face and her fist tightly clenched. And standing behind her was Ikki, covered with bruises and a few bandages. Lowering his head and dropping Riolu to ground, Miles just shook his head. '_I can already tell that this won't end well…_'

"_-Ow! What was that for!-_" Riolu shouted jumping to his feet, with a small bump on his head.

"Riolu! Not now!" Miles whispered to the small fox pokemon.

Coughing slightly, Miles immediately regained his composure to give Lena a calm look. "…yes? Is there something I can help you with again?"

"Actually, yes…" Lena replied crossing her arms. "You can step away from the box."

"Okay," Miles stated dragging Riolu a few feet from box.

"Cause if you don't…" Lena continued before what Miles stated finally sunk in. "…wait. What?" 

"Go ahead, take it," Miles continued by holding the struggling Riolu in his right arm and gesturing towards the box with his left. "I know it's yours and that I have no right to invade your privacy."

'_-I guess Miles is quite mature…-_' Caterpie thought.

"Wow, that was easy," Ikki chuckled with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah…" Lena muttered rubbing her chin. "…a little too easy if you ask me…"

"Oh, come on Lena… can't you accept the fact that maybe…" Ikki started only to receive a hand to his face, sending him stumbling backwards. "Wha!?" 

"I don't buy it for a second," Lena growled narrowing her eyes at Miles who was now having a harder time trying to keep Riolu in his arms. "He's already looked into the box…his calm demeanor is obviously a front…"

"…okay, you lost me," Ikki replied with a question mark appearing over his head. "Isn't it even a possibility that he didn't look in the box?"

"Not a chance," Lena whispered back. "More than likely…"

'_Geez…what's the big hold up here?'_ Miles thought still trying to keep a hold on to Riolu, who was now kicking Miles in the stomach.

"…and that's what you're supposed to do," Lena wrapped up stepping back from Ikki with her hands on her hips.

"Don't you think that this is a little too much?" Ikki asked with a sweatdrop appearing on his head. "I mean…he's just a kid…"

"Kid or not…he's already seen too much," Lena retorted reaching for the back of her belt, reaching for one of the four pokeballs that were attached to it.

"Yet, this is just on the assumption that he looked in the box," Ikki sighed rubbing the side of his head.

"Just get the box," Lena growled with her eyes closed.

"…uh, is there anything else you need of me?" Miles asked finally managing to calm Riolu down by scratching the back of Riolu's head.

"Yes actually," Lena replied with an innocent smile appearing on her face as she lifted her hand up, showing the pokeball that she had selected. "It's easy to see that you're a trainer…so how about a little battle?"

"Yeesh…what's with everyone wanting to battle me?" Miles muttered slapping his forehead with his free hand, having his eyes looking through his fingers. '_…still…_'

"…good luck kid," Ikki stated walking past Miles, heading for the box.

"So, what's your answer?" Lena asked balancing the pokeball on her fingertip.

"…how about you two?" Miles asked lifting Riolu up and looking towards Caterpie. "Are you two up for a battle?"

Ikki carefully lifted the large box over his shoulder, and with a few grunts Ikki slowly walked past Miles. "This is all just pointless…honestly, what kind of stupid plan is this anyway?"

"Um…we can hear you, ya know," Miles pointed out with a dulled look on his face while Ikki's face immediately lost its color.

"Uh…gotta go!" Ikki shouted running off as fast as he could with the box on his back.

As soon as Ikki had left the forest, Miles turned towards Lena. "…is there something wrong with him?" 

"Your guess is as good as mine," Lena sighed loudly. '_I can't afford to stand out even more…at least; I should look like a new trainer. So, it's a good thing that I managed to capture these two cuties…'_

"You'll have to forgive me," Miles stated raising his hand up as Riolu jumped to the ground with a smile on his face. "I'm new at this so, I don't really know how a trainer battle works…all I've had was one battle, and that was kinda a forced upon me…"

"Heh, well, it's really easy," Lena stated with a smile on her face. "When another trainer sees you, they'll more than likely confront you once they are sure you are a trainer."

"Then how do they know you're a trainer," Miles asked before looking down at Riolu. "…I mean, besides having your pokemon out?"

"Listen runt, I'm not a teacher," Lena sighted pointing towards her eyes with her free hand. "But, mostly, trainers can identify each other from their eyes…or, in your case they can see the pokeballs attached to your belt."

'…_it's not like they match my shirt,_' Miles thought rubbing his chin. "Okay…thanks for the crash course, but how is this match going to work. I've only been in one official battle so far and…"

"Relax, we'll both only use two pokemon," Lena said now tossing the pokeball she had in her hand. "To win, all you have to do is knock out both of my pokemon. Simple."

"Really simple…" Miles muttered mentally smacking himself in the head for not realizing the simplicity of a battle.

"So, let's battle!" Lena announced throwing the pokeball into the air. "Come out, Zigzagoon!"

From Lena's first pokeball, a small raccoon like pokemon landed on the ground, its fur lined in two different shades of brown with a small black patch of fur around its eyes. With a small bark, the raccoon like pokemon wagged its tail wildly.

"_-Hey, Miles! Send me out!-_" Riolu barked raising his arm up.

'_From a strategic outlook, this girl's already seen the two pokemon that I have,'_ Miles thought with his eyes closed. '_…so, I wouldn't have the element of surprise on my side…so, I guess I will have to rely on type advantage!'_

"Riolu! You're up!"

"_-YEAH!-"_ Riolu shouted leaping forward, a small fire lighting up in his eyes.

"I take it that you're ready," Lena snickered snapping her fingers, making the Zigzagoon become more serious looking. "Well then…Tackle!"

"That's how we begin?" Miles asked as the Zigzagoon began to charge at Riolu, who just stood still. "Riolu! Wait for it…"

"_-You got it!-_"Riolu barked back.

Then with a powerful leap, the small raccoon pokemon was about to slam directly into Riolu's body. "…and Counter!"

Sidestepping an inch, Riolu managed to dodge the Zigzagoon's tackle, and immediately the lamentation pokemon grabbed the raccoon pokemon's tail with both of his paws. The force of the miss began to make Riolu turn on his heels, spinning the two pokemon.

Unfortunately, Riolu's grip wasn't strong enough to hold the raccoon pokemon's tail, so as soon as Riolu had released Zigzagoon's tail, Lena's pokemon was thrown into the ground, skidding back towards Lena. But the Zigzagoon immediately dug its claws into the ground, stopping before it skidded into Lena's legs.

"Hmm, not bad runt, you've got good timing at least," Lena complimented pushing some of her hair from her eyes. "But…since you used counter, its easy to see that your little fox doesn't have that many moves to choose from…"

'_Dang it…she's right…_' Miles thought before shaking his head. "If that's the case, then Riolu! Give that Zigzagoon a taste of your Quick Attack!"

Leaning forward, Riolu charged forward, creating a small blue blur behind him as he headed towards Zigzagoon.

"Tail Whip! Now!" Lena commanded as her Zigzagoon bark in reply before running forward.

"…tail whip? What kind of attack is that?" Miles questioned before Zigzagoon spun on the ground, whacking its tail into Riolu's feet, tripping the fighting pokemon face first into the ground.

"It's a move that lowers an opponent's defense," Lena replied while Riolu slowly began to get up. "Quite effective if used properly, allow me to show you! Tackle once more Zigzagoon!"

Just as Riolu managed to stand up on his hind legs, the raccoon pokemon slammed into Riolu's back, sending the fighting pokemon back to the ground. "_-Oof! Hey! Watch it!-_"

"And now…Tackle once more!" Lena commanded as the Zigzagoon charged forward, its usually calm eyes narrowed down.

"We're not going to take that are we Riolu?" Miles asked, getting into the battle.

"_-Not on your life!-_" Riolu barked raising his arms up.

"Then go! And use Quick Attack once more!" Miles announced throwing his arm up towards the Zigzagoon.

Both pokemon ran forward, Riolu picking up speed heading towards Zigzagoon, both of them ready to slam into each other. "Zigzagoon! Use Tail Whip once more!"

Then with a quick spin, Lena's Zigzagoon was about to whip its long tail into Riolu's feet once more…

"Riolu! Jump!" Miles shouted before Riolu immediately leapt into the air, dodging the tail at the last second. "And as soon as you land, Quick Attack once more!"

"I have to admit runt…" Lena muttered as Riolu landed on the ground and immediately spun to run towards Zigzagoon at a decent speed. "You certainly think creatively…but…don't think that you're going to win! Headbutt!"

Before Riolu could continue running, the Zigzagoon slammed its head directly into Riolu's trim stomach, knocking the air out of Riolu's lungs. "_-OOF!-_"

The force had sent Riolu backwards, making the lamentation pokemon land on his back with his eyes replaced with spinning dizzy marks.

"With that…I think your Riolu's down for the count," Lena giggled as her Zigzagoon slowly strutted back to her side of the field. "Now…you have to call him back with your pokeball and decide if you want to continue this battle or not…"

"Uh, I knew that much," Miles pointed out lifting up Riolu's pokeball, calling Riolu back into his pokeball.

"Yeesh…" Lena muttered turning towards the exit of the forest…Ikki was not in her sight, so continuing this battle wouldn't have a benefit for Lena. "…so, are you willing to continue or not?"

'…_with Riolu out, and with Caterpie not having that much battle experience…_' Miles thought turning his head look at Caterpie, still sitting on his shoulder. "…nah…sides; you should probably catch up to your older brother…"

"OLDER BROTHER!?" Lena snarled scaring Zigzagoon. "Please! I'm thankful that I'm not related to that blabbermouth! And besides…I'm older than he is."

"...what!?" Miles shouted, really surprised that this girl who was around his height was older than that guy that carried off the box. '_I guess there are more freaks in the world than I first thought…_'

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 12:35 p.m._

_Location: Just outside Tempest Forest_

"_-WAH!-_" Riolu shouted sitting up immediately. "_-Ooh…what hit me?-_"

"How about a small raccoon?"

Hearing that familiar voice, Riolu snapped his head to the right. Sitting next him on the grass was Caterpie and Miles, the trainer placing a small bottle of medicine back into his backpack. "About time you woke up Riolu."

"_-Y-yeah, we were getting a little concerned,-_" Caterpie stuttered.

"Uh, Caterpie, we could've just gone to one of the centers in one of the towns," Miles sighed shaking his head. "But…seeing as how I don't know how much farther Burgundy Town is…"

"_-Um…what's a center?-_" Caterpie asked innocently with her head tilted slightly.

"Oh, I'll show you one when we get the chance," Miles replied falling back to the grassy fields, the blue sky was slightly blocked with a few clouds. "…but, we should relax for a while…"

"_-Hey! What about that girl?-_" Riolu protested puffing his chest up slightly. "_-I was about to finish…-_"

"You were taking an early nap," Miles sighed keeping his eyes on the sky.

"_-What!? You didn't give me a chance to get up!-_" Riolu scoffed to the side before jumping on top of Miles's chest. "_-I was just about to…to…-_"

"Knock it off," Miles chuckled slapping Riolu off his chest and onto the grassy field. "It's in the past, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"_-Grr! Not what I expected!-_" Riolu shouted throwing his paws into the air.

"_-…w-well, it'll be interesting to be with these two…-_" Caterpie admitted with a sweatdrop over her head.

"Anyway, we'll leave in a little bit," Miles sighed adjusting slightly to get a little bit more comfortable on the grass. "After getting out of that forest, I could enjoy just laying in the sun for an hour or two…"

"_-Aw come on! You're nothing but a bore!-_" Riolu pouted falling backwards onto the grass. "_-Oh…so tired…-_"

"Finally, a chance for quiet," Miles sighed in relief with a smile on his face as Caterpie rubbed up against him…causing a small shiver zap through his body. "EH?"

"_-O-Oh, sorry Miles…-_" Caterpie stuttered leaping slightly away from Miles.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 1:07 p.m._

_Location: Entrance to Burgundy Town_

After a small nap in the sun, and returning Riolu and Caterpie to their pokeballs, Miles now stood in the middle of Burgundy Town's entrance, taking in the sights of the town. "…huh…"

The small town had a festive look to it; the roads themselves were made entirely out of brick, giving a vibrant red glow to the town. The entrance itself was simple, unlike Serene Town, there wasn't a large sign over the entrance and there weren't a lot of trees in the town compared to the surrounding area.

In fact there were several different electronic stores and many fancy street lights that were currently decorated in paper lanterns. And the people in the streets themselves were dressed in various costumes and masks.

"…I'm at a loss of words," Miles admitted with a sweatdrop as he slowly walked into the town, noticing that there were a lot more people than he first thought. "What in the world could be going on here?"

CLANK!

"OW!" Miles shouted rubbing the back of his head. In front of him, a small soda can bounced on the brick road. The can obviously had smacked into the back of Miles's head and flew into the ground.

"Well, well, well," a familiar yet cocky voice said making Miles's hair on the back of his head. "…it's you…uh, you'll have to forgive me, but names and I never worked…"

Spinning on his heel, Miles was met with the familiar mug. The dull trainer that stood before him was dressed the exact same way Miles saw him a couple of days ago, he even had the same dull look on his face as well. "…Kurai…"

"Hmm…I seem to recall that's my name," Kurai joked still with the dull tone in his voice, tilting his head slightly. "I think your name was…Yards? Meters?"

"No," Miles sighed lowering his head with a sweatdrop rolling down his head. "The name was Miles…and yours was Kurai."

"I already knew that," Kurai sighed walking past Miles to pick up the soda can. "…anyway, sorry about the can…I was just kicking it around…"

"Yeah…so I could tell…" Miles sighed with a small blood vessel appearing on the back of his head. '_Yeah right! I bet you aimed to hit me!'_

A small wind blew through the town, as the two trainers starred at each other…an awkward silence followed the breeze until Miles coughed slightly. "So…what exactly are you doing here?"

"Oh, well, it's a bother really," Kurai yawned stretching his arms over his head.

"What being here?" Miles asked raising an eyebrow.

"What? No," Kurai replied lowering his arms. "Answering this question…"

With a slap to his forehead, Miles slowly dragged his hand over his face. "Then answer it quickly…"

"Yeah, yeah," Kurai sighed before falling down to sit on the brick ground. "I'm a trainer right? So, trainers generally go to pokemon gyms…that and the fact I was dragged here by Val…"

"Val?" Miles questioned to himself, before actually realizing what that meant. "Oh, Valerie…wait, she's here?"

"I'd think that'd be apparent," Kurai yawned even louder, this time creating a few tears at the edges of his eyes. "After all, the two of us are traveling together on this journey…"

"But now…why are you here?"

"Oh, uh, well," Miles chuckled scratching the side of his face.

"_-Miles!-_" Riolu shouted jumping on top of Miles's head, surprising Kurai slightly. "_-I can't stand being cooped up in that darn pokeball!-_"

"…great…" Miles sighed lowering his head even more.

"A pokemon?" Kurai questioned with a raised eyebrow. "…and its that Riolu to boot…"

"_-Hey, isn't that the bug guy?-_" Riolu asked pointing towards Kurai with his paw.

"…Bug guy? Where does that come from?" Kurai questioned blinking a few times.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Vyser D:** Another chapter down and thanks for reviewing…appreciate a few more reviews.


	6. Chapter 6: The Familiar Faces

**Chapter 6**

**The Familiar Faces**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 1:16 p.m._

_Location: Burgundy Town,_

_Pokemon Center_

"…and the next thing I know, I'm being chased by an army of bird pokemon," Miles sighed before sipping on his can of orange soda.

"…huh," Kurai replied blinking a few times.

Wrapping up his story about how Miles got wrapped up in being a trainer by Prof. Pine and his own father, and this morning. Of course, during that little explanation, Kurai had the dulled look on his face as he did when Miles first met him. "…I have to say…it is impressive that you did managed to make it here in a day."

"What? How long did it take you and Valerie to get here?" Miles asked taking a break from his soda.

"About the time when you were having that little discussion with Pine and your old man," Kurai answered swirling his hot chocolate in the small mug he had. "We were already in Temp Town at noon, but when we kinda got lost in Tempest Forest, he had to camp out for the night…"

"Really? You two camped out?" Miles asked raising an eyebrow.

"That's what I just said," Kurai sighed shaking his head. "Anyway, Val's visiting some family in this town here, and I'm just killing time while our pokemon are getting healed." Immediately, Kurai took a small sip from his hot chocolate before smirking slightly. "And one more thing, I never thought that you'd get a pokemon…let alone the Riolu that we saved…"

"…it's a lot less glorious than you make it sound," Miles groaned slapping his forehead, then an idea just slapped Miles in the back of his head. "Hey, you willing to trade?"

"Nah," Kurai snickered placing his mug on the table to cross his arms. "I'm content with Sealth and Tales. I don't think my body could keep up with an energetic Riolu…good luck with him though…"

"…oh," Miles sighed slightly, a little disappointed that he couldn't get rid of Riolu. "…wait, Tales?"

"Yes, I caught him in Tempest Forest," Kurai replied reaching for his belt to lift up two pokeballs that were placed on the table. Obviously, one was Sealth's pokeball, and the other must have been the mysterious Tales'. "I don't have to show you what he is, but, I'll just say, that you might just be a little surprised…"

"Yeesh, do you like being mysterious?" Miles asked with a dulled look on his face.

"Miles Sabers?" 

Miles quickly turned to the side of the table to see Nurse Joy (a different Nurse Joy that he learned earlier about, apparently there were several Nurse Joys over the entire world) walking up to the table with a tray in her hands. "Y-Yeah?"

"Your Riolu and Caterpie are all better," Nurse Joy replied with a smile on her face placing the tray on the table. "Please, when you're in our town, please come again to our center!"

"Well, I'm sure I'll be visiting again," Miles replied with a smile on his face while he grabbed the two poke balls.

"…heh…" Kurai groaned looking out the window, only to raise an eyebrow. "Well…that's weird…"

"Hmm? What's weird?" Miles asked starring out the window, and looking in the nearby tree, all the color in Miles's face drained out of him. "Urk!?"

"Oh my, I've never seen so many Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot," Nurse Joy gasped lifting the tray up from the table. "Especially, all in the same tree…"

'_Oh no! Did those birds follow me!?'_ Miles's mind was flashing as he turned slowly away from the window, still feeling the cold glares being shot by the birds.

"Uh, anyway, it's almost time to meet up with Val," Kurai stated slowly standing up from his seat to stretch his arms while Nurse Joy walked away. "Care to join us Miles?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, but, can we the back exit?" Miles asked taking a quick glance out the window to see the many bird pokemon glaring at him.

"…is there something that you're not telling me?" Kurai questioned looking out the window at the bird pokemon. "Wait…were those the…"

"Um, no, just want to do something different," Miles chuckled walking away from his seat.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 1:20 p.m._

_Location: Burgundy Town,_

_Town Square_

"Yum! Ice…cream…" Ikki exclaimed between his large licks on the chocolate ice cream, having a few splotches of the desert on his face. "Is…simply…delicious!"

Having been in town for a least an hour or so, Ikki decided on a little break near the large statue of what appeared to be a powerful warrior lifting up a large silver lance. With the large box being used as a makeshift chair, Ikki just relaxed by watching the many kinds of people walking in front of him. "…So many people…so many faces…too much for my tastes, there needs to be a lot less people in our overcrowded world of ours…"

"For crying out loud! Shut up for once!"

That loud shout scared Ikki, forcing the large, free minded trainer to drop his rather large cone of ice cream. "NNOOOO! My beautiful ice cream!" Tears began to stream down Ikki's eyes as he knelt down over his spilled ice cream. "I barely got the chance to enjoy you…"

Lena just placed her hands to her hips and sweat drop at her comrade's actions. '_Great…out of all the members I get teamed up with, it's the over dramatic loud mouth…'_

"Sometimes I wonder why I shouldn't buy earplugs," Ikki moaned lowering his head slamming his hands on the ground.

"I'll pretend that I didn't hear that," Lena growled with a blood vessel appearing on her forehead. "Just because you actually didn't screw up our plan to get the package out of the woods, good job Ikki."

"Y-yeah, about that," Ikki whistled poking his fingers together, trying not to get caught up in Lena's slightly surprised eyes.

"Ikki…don't tell me…that you did something stupid again," Lena sighed slapping her forehead, which was starting to develop a small red mark.

"N-no! O-Of course not!" Ikki defended waving his arms in front of his body.

"What do I do? The moment she finds out what happened, I can kiss my butt goodbye! But, she'll find out eventually…still, the longer it takes for her to find out that the package managed to escape from the box…"

"WHAT!? THE PACKAGE ESCAPED!?" Lena shouted surprising Ikki even more.

"Curse you my lips! You have sealed my fate once more!" Ikki cried out as Lena cracked her knuckles.

"You'll have to worry a little less about your lips," Lena snarled stomping towards the tear driven Ikki, who just tried to escape…but it was too late. "And more about the concussion you're about to get!"

"AAH! HELP!"

BAM!

"P-POLICE!"

SMACK!

"MED…MEDICAL TRANsportati…"

POW!

"…ugh…"

Meanwhile on the other side of the statue…

"I've never seen bird pokemon attack like that!" Kurai huffed trying to catch his breath as Miles slowly caught up with a few small beak and claw marks on his clothes and skin. "What the hell did you do to get a vendetta with the bird pokemon?"

"Hey! D-Don't blame me…" Miles sighed looking down to see Riolu casually walking up to him, playing with his red scarf. "If this little muscle head didn't egg on those birds, then we wouldn't have been chased by them in the first place."

"_-Hey! I'm not going to back down from a fight ever again!-_" Riolu barked crossing his arms at Miles. "_-And we had a score to settle with those birdbrains!-_"

That's when Miles slapped his forehead at his fighting pokemon's actions. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"You have my condolences," Kurai sighed before leaning up against the large statue of the lance wielding warrior. "Now that our little reminisce with famous, yet badly done movies is over, all we got to do is wait for Val to get over here…"

"True…" Miles replied taking his eyes off of Riolu.

"_-Hey! What am I supposed to do?-_" Riolu huffed jumping up to get both Miles and Kurai's attentions.

"…I've got an idea," Kurai suggested lifting up one of his pokeballs, immediately releasing the familiar green gecko Treecko, Sealth next to the surprised Riolu. "Sealth…"

"_-Yes sir?-_" Sealth the Treecko replied saluting to Kurai with a dignified look in his large yellow eyes.

"You mind keeping Riolu company while I talk to Miles for a few minutes…" Kurai requested keeping his eyes on Miles.

"_-Sir, yes, sir!-_" Sealth announced turning towards Riolu, casting his gaze over to the fighting pokemon.

"_-Um…hello?-_" Riolu waved towards Sealth who crossed his arms over his lean green body.

"_-…it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,-_" Sealth replied sitting down on the ground, Indian style. "_-As you heard, I am Sealth, proud Treecko in Sir Kurai's care.-_"

"_-Why exactly are you referring to your trainer as 'Sir'?-_" Riolu asked scratching the side of his head.

"_-I find it more respectable to refer to Sir Kurai as Sir…-_" Sealth answered immediately allowing his large dark green tail to flow over his tail. "_-It's really more of a symbol of thanks for placing his trust into me.-_"

"_-No offense,-_" Riolu started turning towards Kurai and Miles. "_-But he's not really all that impressive…-_"

"_-And I suppose your trainer is perfect?-_" Sealth yawned laying backwards, placing his head onto his tail. "_-He might not have the physical properties, but his strategies, well, they more than make up for it.-_"

"_-…-_" Riolu just blinked a few times in confusion.

With a loud sigh, the Treecko lifted his head up. "_-Uh, let me put it in simpler terms…its like he makes up what he lacks…-_"

"_-Oh! Just like when Miles helps to make me laugh or scratches me behind the ears, even though he has terrible luck!-_" Riolu stated clapping his paws together with a large smile on his face.

"_-Eh, you've got the basic idea…-_" Sealth chuckled lowering his head back onto his tail. "_-But, I would think that you would've at least known not to make a flock of birds angry…I mean, you're a fighting type and flying pokemon are a big disadvantage to you…--_"

"_-Hey, I'm still just a pup, a lean, mean, fighting pup, but a pup none the less!-_" Riolu stated patting his paw against his chest. "_-I don't care if the odds are stacked against me!-_"

"_-Hmm…seems like you were born yesterday…-_" Sealth sighed shaking his head.

"_-Actually, it was two days ago,-_" Riolu corrected flapping his scarf around his neck. "_-Wait…didn't I save you then?-_"

"_-Well, I lay here corrected,-_" Sealth replied. "_-At least I see the reason why you act like you do.-_"

"_-And what's that supposed to mean?-_" Riolu questioned raising an eyebrow at the gecko pokemon.

"_-…Zzzzz…-_" The Treecko didn't reply, all he did was slowly close his eyes and began to snooze.

"_-Hey! Don't ignore me!-_" Riolu shouted with a blood vessel appearing on his head.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Unknown to everyone, at the same time in the unknown lair of the Venomous Fang Order, the admin known only as Turner was walking through the dark hallowed halls, completely engrossed with the clipboard papers he had in his hands. "Hmm…"

Contrary to what one might think about the conditions of work when you're on a team (or, in this case an order), Turner had to admit that the job was actually worth the pay he got. Hours were manageable, promotions were at every corner (the flipside to that was that if you made a big mistake you'd get slammed down by the highest authority), and every Friday was casual day.

But, since the order was established two or three years ago, Turner was with the leader through the good and bad. He even managed to become one of the top three admins of the Order, and even though the leader held most of the cards in the order, the top three admins were considered on almost equal powers with the leader.

Quite the burden on his shoulders Turner had…but not as big as the burden that he would have to come to grips with in a matter of seconds.

Behind those large doors…

"…I hate to see what he's doing now…" Turner sighed, knowing that even though the door was usually locked, and he could've gotten away with the excuse that he didn't bring his keys…

…the fact of the matter was that during this time of the day, the leader usually kept the door unlocked. So, lifting his clipboard up to his face, Turner carefully opened the door to the Leader's office. "Sir? Are you in here?"

"Ah! Turner! Perfect timing! You need to check this out!"

"Sir, we've been over this several times," Turner sighed slowly walking into the slightly brighter(?) office, not noticing the drastic changes that had occurred in the office. "That's what your doctor is for, and I'm not licensed in medicine…"

"Wha…? Oh, no, no, no," The leader replied with a slight laugh in his voice. "Lower the clipboard and take a look around."

"I'm almost afraid to do that sir," Turner muttered lowering the clipboard, yet keeping his eyes closed. With hesitation, Turner opened his eyes slightly, and immediately they almost bugged out of their sockets. "…what…the…hell?!" 

"I know!" The leader announced from his large chair…that was made of bamboo.

The entire office was completely redone than when Turner was in it at midnight, the windows were opened to allow the light to flow into the room. That was the most minor change, the entire office resembled that of a Japanese garden, with a large tank that had Goldeen, Remoraid, a couple of Qwilfish, and even a Magikarp or two that was in front of the leader's desk.

"S-Sir? W-where'd all this stuff come from?" Turner stuttered pushing up his sunglasses. It was only about thirteen hours since he was last in this office, how could it change in that small amount of time.

"Well, glad you asked Turner," The leader chuckled with a great smile on his face. "You see, after the meeting last night, I felt discomforted and out of whack. So, I consulted…"

"Please tell me you didn't consult those fashion magazines again," Turner moaned kneeling down next to the large tank of fish, tapping the glass a few times. "I thought I burned them all…"

"Don't tap the glass," The leader stated with a little venom in his voice. "And no, I didn't consult the fashion magazines since you cancelled those subscriptions…so I consulted the books of ancient cures…and well, long story short, I hired the best Feng Shuway guy around to make my office into a much more calmed area…"

"…I think you mean Fen Shi," Turner corrected standing up in front of the tank. "And how'd you pay for this sir? I don't think this is in the budget."

"I have a paycheck too, you know," the leader dully responded placing his arms behind his head.

"…but why a garden?" Turner asked observing some of the weird plants that were in the room…some of which were moving! But, Turner didn't notice them at the moment; he was more concerned with the leader. "I mean, you're the leader of an organization that's been made to create chaos in the world and take advantage of every opportunity to fulfill the goals of the organization."

"…and your point is?" The leader asked with a few question marks appearing over his head.

"Sir! This is completely contradictory to our self-image!" Turner snapped, making the leader fall out of his seat with a loud crash. "We're supposed to be an evil organization! Not a peace garden!"

"Ouch…" The leader moaned slowly standing up, rubbing the new bruise that was on his head. "Look, just because I want disorder and chaos in the world, doesn't mean that I don't want harmony where I stand…or sit in this case."

"…ya know what?" Turned groaned with a few blood vessels appearing on his forehead. "Do what ya want…just let me get my report out of the way and let me get out of here."

"Man Turner, you need to relax sometimes…" The leader sighed sitting back in his seat. "You should really consider going down to the karaoke bar with me one of these Fridays…gets rid of the stress really good, nothing like amateurs singing off key to classic songs that no one really remembers now-a-days."

"But sir…isn't that what this Zen garden is for?" Turner asked before shaking his head. "Never mind, I'm done trying to figure you out today…I've already had my aspirin today, thank you…"

"Aw…you always steal my fun away…" The leader pouted relaxing back in his seat. "But, go ahead I guess…we should have heard from Admin Amadeus and Admin Sherris right about now…"

Turner's sunglasses slowly slumped down his face slightly; he didn't expect that the leader would've actually been prepared for the little meeting. "Uh…yeah, let me get to those pages…"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"…And that's why you never put hot sauce in milk," Kurai wrapped up crossing his arms at the confused Miles.

"Uh, okay…what did that have to do with anything?" Miles questioned blinking a few times at Kurai. "Especially, since we were talking about ideas how to tame Riolu."

"Nothing, I was just trying to kill some time," Kurai chuckled as his two hair antennae stiffened up slightly. "Especially since you know who is coming over here…"

"… 'You know who?'" Miles asked turning towards where Kurai was looking.

"Kurai! I'm back!"

Walking up to the statue was none other than Valerie, with her Torchic, Phoenix, sitting on her shoulder chirping happily. "Did you wait long Kurai?"

"Nah…well, yeah," Kurai stated bluntly making Valerie and Phoenix lower their heads. "But it wasn't bad…I had a little company."

"…little?" Miles questioned noticing that Kurai did have a little height on him…not counting Kurai's antennae.

"Huh?" Valerie questioned before noticing that Miles was standing there. "Oh! Miles! I didn't see you there!"

"…no worries…" Miles replied with an embarrassed smile on his face. '_I would've figured I kinda stood out in a crowd…but standing next to bug hair here, I guess I would be pushed to the side…'_

"So, what brings you here Miles?" Valerie asked twirling some of her hair in her finger, while letting Phoenix jump off her shoulder. "Are you here with your dad on business?"

"Nah, he's here as a trainer," Kurai answered for Miles.

"What?! A trainer?" Valerie gasped looking at Miles all the while twirling some of her braided hair. "Well, congratulations then Miles!"

He didn't realize it, but Miles was blushing slightly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, w-well, thanks Valerie…"

"No need to be so formal, Miles," Valerie giggled slightly with a smile. "You can call me Val if you like."

"S-Sure Val…" Miles replied, the blush growing a little more on his face.

'_Well, well, well…will you look at this…'_ Kurai thought before noticing that Sealth was being pecked at by Phoenix. But that wasn't what he was concerned about. "Hey Miles…where'd your pokemon get to?"

"Huh?" Miles questioned turning left and right, but not able to see Riolu anywhere nearby. "ACK! He's gone…again!"

"What are you two talking about?" Val asked with a few question marks popping over her head.

"Miles's pokemon…" Kurai dully responded as Miles began pulling the side of his hair. "…he was there with Sealth a few seconds ago…"

"_-Banzai!-_" A familiar battle cry echoed through the air before a blue blur leapt from the statue of the lance wielding warrior and landed on top of Miles's head, wagging his black tail left and right as Miles buckled to the ground. "_-Ha! Ha! Gotcha all!-_"

"Riolu…" Miles growled clenching his fist tightly.

"_-Yeah Miles?-_" Riolu asked looking down into his trainer's face with a large goofy smile on his face.

WHAM!!

"_-Oof!-_" Riolu yelped sliding off of Miles's head and gently landing onto the concrete ground. After getting his bearings, Riolu glared daggers at Miles. "_-Hey! What was that for!?-_"

"Didn't I tell you not to run off this morning?" Miles asked returning the glare.

"_-…I thought that only applied when we were being chased…-_" Riolu answered with an almost sincere look in his eyes.

"…why do I even bother?" Miles sighed dropping his head down slightly.

"Wow! It's the cutie!"

"_-Huh?-_" Riolu questioned until getting scooped up into Val's arms. "_-What the!?-_"

"Oh, this must be your little cutie, right Miles?" Valerie asked holding Riolu close to her, while the small fighting pokemon tried to struggle out of her grip. "I didn't think that you'd get this little guy…"

"Uh, right," Miles chuckled slightly with a small sweatdrop slowly rolling down the back of his head. "But 'a little cutie' isn't the best way to describe him…"

"_-Miles is right!-_" Riolu barked looking up at Val. "_-I'm a lean, mean, fighting…-_" Riolu was about to continue until Val began to scratch under the fox like pokemon's chin, placing a small look of calmness on his face as his tail began to wag. "_-Oh! That's the spot!-_"

"Yeah…he's as wild as a feral beast," Kurai stated crossing his arms as Sealth leapt to his trainer's shoulder, wrapping his tail around Kurai's neck. "And yet, when in a young maiden's arms, he becomes as tame as a house cat…would you agree Sealth?"

"_-Well sir, he still is only a pup…-_" Sealth answered crossing his arms like his trainer. "_-Remember sir?-_"

"…and here I thought he was a fighting machine," Miles sighed lowering his head. "Riolu's nothing more than a big softie…"

"_-I dare ya to say that again!-_" Riolu barked jumping from Val's arms to puff up his chest towards Miles. "_-Come on! Bring it on!-_"

Val crouched down at her slightly annoyed Torchic, and rubbed the back of the fire chick's head. "Aw, I'm sorry Phoenix…but you know you'll always be the cutest in my book."

"_-…I suppose so…-_" Phoenix chirped before jumping on Val's arm. "_-But, don't be so quick to do that again…-_"

"I make no promises," Val giggled before looking up at Miles who had calmed Riolu down, and even had the small fighting pokemon resting on his backpack. "So Miles…what's the little guy's name?"

"Huh, his name's Riolu," Miles stated blinking a few times missing the question completely.

"Uh, I think she means what are you planning on naming Riolu," Kurai stated bluntly with a dulled look on his face while gesturing towards Sealth. "Like take for example my Treekco, Sealth, or Val's Torchic, Phoenix."

"_-Yeah! How come I'm the only starter without a nickname?-_" Riolu asked innocently with puppy dog eyes. "_-Can't I have a name too?-_"

"W-Well…I didn't know I could name you exactly…" Miles admitted rubbing his chin. "But, I think I could think of a name for you…maybe…"

"So, anyway, Val, I don't suppose the Gym is open today, is it?" Kurai asked while Miles was somewhat busy trying to think of names for Riolu.

"Sorry Kurai, but, it looks like the gym won't be opened until tomorrow…" Val sighed rubbing Phoenix's head. "And my brother's having company tonight, so we'll have to stay at the center tonight…"

"Good thing I decided to think ahead and already book a room," Kurai sighed pushing some of his hair from his face. "But…what are we going to do for the rest of the day though?"

"How's about…Rae?" Miles suggested rubbing his chin, still thinking of names for Riolu.

"_-Nah…sounds like that name belongs to an electric type pokemon,-_" Riolu shot down. "_-Maybe…Blazer?-_"

"You're not a fire type," Miles sighed slapping his forehead. "…jeez, this is like name a pet…"

"Miles?" Val stated, getting both Miles and Riolu to stop their name game.

"Huh?" Miles asked. "Y-Yeah?" 

"Do you have any plans while here?" Val asked with a smile on her face.

"…well, all I have is a small errand to run," Miles replied, he still had that package to deliver to a merchant…but, he realized that he didn't know which merchant it was… "But, I've got nothing planned…"

"…then may I make a suggestion?" Kurai piped up getting both Miles and Val to look at him. "…we're all trainers…so how about…"

"…a battle?"


	7. Chapter 7: The Trio of Trainers

Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**The Trio of Trainers**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"_Do you have any plans while here?" Val asked with a smile on her face._

"…_well, all I had was a small errand to run," Miles replied, he still had that package to deliver to a merchant…but, he realized that he didn't know which merchant it was… "But, I've got nothing planned…"_

"…_then may I make a suggestion?" Kurai piped up getting both Miles and Val to look at him. "…we're all trainers…so how about…"_

"…_a battle?"_

"A…battle?" Miles repeated slowly as Riolu began to wag his tail wildly in the air.

"_-Come on Miles! It'll be awesome!-_" Riolu barked waving his paws in the air.

"Kurai, this is new," Val chuckled scratching the top of Phoenix's head, making the chic pokemon chirp with joy. "You're actually suggesting a battle? And here I was thinking that you thought battles were tedious."

"_-Sir?-_" Sealth asked tilting his head slightly.

"…well, it would only be fair if you ask me…" Kurai answered rubbing his chin while his other arm was crossed over his stomach. "We owe it to each other…"

"Fair?" Miles and Val asked at the same time, question marks appearing over both of their heads.

"Yes…Val, remember before we met Miles we were having a battle…" Kurai explained wagging his finger at the other two newbie trainers. "…unfortunately it was interrupted. Since then, I felt as though we should continue where we left off…"

"Yeah, but what about Miles, how do we owe him?" Val questioned smiling towards Miles, who turned slightly with a blush on his face.

"…you forget, we knocked him out," Kurai stated flatly, moving his eyes towards Sealth, who in turn looked away from his trainer's gaze.

"I'll give him this, he knows how to make great logic," Miles whistled adjusting his headband to get the hair out of his eyes. "A little cold if you ask me…"

"That's Kurai for ya," Val admitted as she and Phoenix tilted their heads slightly.

"So are you two up for it?" Kurai offered bouncing a few times on his heels, actually looking like he was excited about this battle.

"Well, what do you think Phoenix?" Val asked looking down at the Torchic in her arms.

"_-Well…I'm up for it!-_" Phoenix chirped jumping from Val's arms and onto the ground.

Miles slowly reached for his backpack where Riolu was…but, Riolu was already on the ground in front of Miles lifting his palm up. "_-What're we waiting for? Let's get this show started!-_"

"I want to know where he learns this stuff," Miles groaned slapping his forehead. "I guess we're in…" 

"Then we'll have a free for all battle," Kurai stated as Sealth leapt onto the statue's pedestal. "All three of us battle each other…sound good?"

"I'm good with that," Val replied with a smile.

"_-Come on! Come on! Let's get it on!-_" Riolu barked pumping his arms in the air.

Miles shook his head and sighed at Riolu's answer. '_I'm glad one of us is ready for this…but…'_

"One pokemon each," Kurai stated raising his hand up as his Treecko saluted at him. "Sealth is my choice."

"Me and Phoenix are ready!" Val announced, getting her Torchic into a more dramatic battle position.

"_-Yeah! Let's do this!-_" Riolu yelped…making Miles lower his head slightly.

'_Am I even needed for this?'_

"Then…" Kurai started diving his hand into his pocket, fishing out a coin that had a picture of a beautiful golden bird where the heads up part was. Flicking the coin in the air, Val and Miles looked up as the coin just went higher and higher into the air. "As soon as that coin hits the ground…we begin…"

Slowly, the coin fell to the ground, all three trainers holding their breath as the coin came closer and closer to the ground. Time seemed to slow down, all three trainers, their thoughts all abuzz…

'_Riolu! What have you gotten me into this time!?'_

'_Alright! Time to show these guys what I can do!'_

'…_I wonder what the center is serving at dinner tonight?'_

DING!

"LET'S BATTLE!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Look, I don't care if you're in agonizing pain!" Lena growled crossing her arms at Ikki who was busy licking his wounds. "We're going to lose our heads if we don't find that package!"

"Well, it's not like we're not going to be able to find the package that easily," Ikki moaned lowering his head applying the cold compresses to his bruises. "…heck, we don't even know if the package is around the town anymore…"

"Relax, first, there's no way it could've gotten that far," Lena sighed flicking some hair from her eyes. "More than likely the package is still around this town…"

"Plus…remember the information we've got about the package…"

"Hmm…" Ikki mumbled to himself rubbing his bandaged chin. Then with a quick snap of his fingers, Ikki smiled brightly. "Oh, yeah! How we managed to grab the package in the first place!"

"Please tell me you still have… 'it'…" Lena stated a dark smile appearing on her face as Ikki began to dig into his pocket.

With a goofy smile spread out on his face, Ikki fished out what appeared to be a fancy silver pendant in the shape of the card suit diamond. Almost mesmerized by the pendulum movements of the pendant, Ikki's smile grew even goofier. "…as long as we hold this trinket…we'll be able get the package back easily!"

"Oh…you two lost the package?" A snobby and cold voice rang in Ikki and Lena's ears, sending subzero shivers down their backs as they slowly turned around. "I wonder if the leader would be interested in hearing this little tidbit of information…"

"N-no…" Lena gulped, her eyes widening at the sight of the man behind her.

"A-A-A," Ikki stuttered dropping the pendant to the ground at the mysterious man's feet. "A-A-Admin M-M-Maxwell!"

The mysterious man shook his head at the two trembling teens, forcing them to the ground as he tapped his pitch black cane into the ground few times. "Tsk, tsk…pitiful…simply pitiful…is this the elite of Team Atmos in making?"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Sealth! Pound now!"

Leaping from the bronze statue, Kurai's Treecko spun in midair, almost forming a green wheel that spun faster and faster towards Riolu. Then, extending his tail, Sealth was ready to slam his tail right into Riolu's head…

…until Riolu leapt to the side at the last second, making Sealth's tail slam into the concrete (actually creating a few cracks into the ground) and dodging the damage. "_-Ha! Too slow green guy!-_"

"Riolu! Look out!" Miles shouted.

"_-Huh?-_" Riolu questioned before many embers crashed into his body, propelling him into the surprised Sealth, knocking them both to the ground. "_-AGH!-_"

"Sealth!" Kurai yelped turning towards Val and Phoenix.

Snapping her fingers, Val winked towards the two guys. "Ha, ha! Got ya! Nice Ember attack Phoenix!"

"_-Of course!-_" Phoenix chirped waving her wings proudly a few times.

"Wow…that's a little surprising," Miles stated with a large drop of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"…yeah well, Val was actually winning our battle before we met you," Kurai admitted with a dulled look as Sealth and Riolu slowly stood up, burn marks appearing all over their bodies. "But, I can quickly remedy this…Sealth! While Riolu's next to you, use Absorb!"

"_-Sir, yes, sir!-_" Sealth shouted clapping his small hands together, creating green aura around him and Riolu, making Riolu wince slightly. Slowly, the small burn marks began to heal themselves on Sealth's body.

"_-W-What the heck?-_" Riolu questioned, one of his eyes closed due to the pain.

"_-Ahh…now that's refreshing…-_" Sealth sighed in relief concentrating on the attack.

"We're not just going to wait you know!" Valerie announced throwing her arm into the air. "Phoenix! Use Ember once more on both of them!"

"_-Take this!-_" Phoenix shouted snapping her head forward to fire another volley of embers towards the blue and green pokemon.

"Riolu! Get away with Quick Attack!" Miles shouted getting a nod from Riolu.

In a blue blur, Riolu quickly managed to get out of range of the Treecko's Absorb attack and just managed to dodge the volley of embers. Having followed suite, Sealth had leapt backwards spinning slightly till he landed on the ground.

"And now…Riolu! Use Quick Attack to…well, attack!" Miles stuttered rubbing the back of his head. Sealth and Phoenix sweat dropped at the very speed of the small fighting pokemon, as the blur seemed to circle around them both.

"Wow…interesting speed," Kurai stated with his eyes widened. "But then again…it's not like we haven't seen this before…"

"Amazing…" Val admitted with her jaw dropping towards the ground. Then with a shake of her head, Val lifted her hand up. "Phoenix, brace yourself!"

"And now…attack!" Miles shouted throwing his hand up.

"_-Finally!-_" Riolu shouted taking a very sharp turn towards Phoenix, making the blue fox like pokemon trip slightly, but still heading towards his target.

"Phoenix! Dodge and counter with Ember!" Val shouted out to the Torchic, but it was too late.

Delivering a powerful kick to Phoenix's stomach, Riolu forced the Torchic skidding backwards in pain. However, even as she skidded backwards, Phoenix fired a large volley of embers that flew towards the surprised Riolu.

"Riolu! Try to dodge it!" Miles yelped before the embers crashed into the ground.

Using his powerful legs, Riolu leapt into the air, just barely being able to dodge the fire attack. "_-Ha! Too slow!-_"

"_-Who's too slow?-_" Sealth asked appearing behind Riolu, surprising the fighting pokemon.

"_-What?!-_" Riolu yelped turning his head back.

"Sealth! Pound attack once more!" Kurai commanded as Sealth spun in the air, slamming his tail into Riolu's back, sending the fighting pokemon flying into the tall bronze statue's back.

WHAM!

"-_…ow…-_" Riolu moaned loudly slowly peeling off of the statue with a dazed look on his face.

"…oh, Riolu…" Miles sighed lowering his head while lifting up Riolu's pokeball to call back the knocked out fighting pokemon.

"_-N-Not yet!-_" Riolu sputtered slowly getting back up, tugging on his scarf, pulling it away from his neck to the side. "_-I'm not out of this yet…-_"

"…that's one persistent Riolu," Kurai stated with Sealth nodding.

"Okay Phoenix! Let's spice things up with Scratch on Riolu!" Val announced before the Torchic charged towards Riolu.

"…how about we lend a hand Sealth?" Kurai suggested, getting a nod from Sealth before the gecko pokemon began to run forward. "Pound attack!"

"_-Bring it on!-_" Riolu barked as the grass and fire pokemon leapt into the air, Sealth spinning around in the air while Phoenix lifted both of her talons up into the air. "_-I'll just counter…-_"

"Riolu! Don't move!" Miles shouted making Riolu blink in confusion.

"_-Wah-What?-_" Riolu questioned, not noticing that the two opposing pokemons' attacks were beginning to draw closer and closer with each passing second.

That's when Riolu looked to Miles's face, noticing that his trainer was nodding. And with a nod of his owe, Riolu just looked forward…

'…_huh? What are you doing?_' Kurai thought before the two attacks were about to land on Riolu.

"Now! Quick Attack forward!" Miles shouted abruptly.

"_-Got ya!-_" Riolu yelped propelling himself forward just before the two attacks were about to strike him.

With no real target, both Sealth and Phoenix just slammed into each other with a loud smacking sound in the air before they both fell backwards. And skidding to a stop, Riolu turned around to see what had happened. "_-Awesome! And I've done it again!-_"

"What the? Don't act so high and mighty!" Miles shouted slapping his forehead. "This battle…"

"Isn't over!" Kurai replied throwing his hand up! "Sealth! Use your Quick Attack with Pound!"

"_-Payback time, pup!-_" Sealth shouted speeding straight towards Riolu, his rail raised up to slam into the fox like pokemon's face.

"Riolu! Counter!" Miles shouted as Riolu slowly placed himself into a strict battle stance…ready to intercept Sealth's attack as the gecko pokemon was getting closer and closer…

"Phoenix! Ember!"

"Huh?" Miles and Kurai questioned.

"_-Huh?-_" Riolu and Sealth questioned before a large volley of embers suddenly erupted around both pokemon, engulfing them both into the large amount of fire. "_-Ack!-_"

…a few seconds later…

"Yeah! We won Phoenix!" Valerie cheered as Phoenix leapt into the air, followed by her trainer.

"_-We're number one!-_" Phoenix chirped loudly flapping her wings.

"…doesn't this seem a little unfair?" Miles asked blinking a few times as Val and Phoenix celebrated their victory, while he returned a slightly crispy Riolu to his pokeball.

Shaking his head while he returned Sealth to his pokeball, Kurai lowered his eyelids to make his glance seem bored and dulled over. "…it's actually a strategic opening…that and Val's Torchic is actually at a higher level than Sealth and obviously your Riolu…"

"Now come on you two!" Val shouted scaring both of the male trainers, her fingers held up in a victory pose while Phoenix leapt to her trainer's shoulders. Then raising her hand up, Kurai sighed.

"…fine…" Kurai merely reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small amount of cash that was immediately slapped into Val's empty hand.

Kurai and Val then turned to Miles, who just stood there confused, blinking a few times. "Uh…what's going on?" 

"Oh, I guess he doesn't know…" Val snickered, a dark look appearing on her and Kurai's faces.

"Apparently…" Kurai chuckled, his antennae almost looking like demonic horns sticking out of his head.

"Wait…what don't I know?" Miles gulped with a large sweat droplet appearing on the back of his head.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 6: 47 p.m._

_Location: Burgundy Town,_

_Outskirt Noodle Stand_

"SLUUUURRRRRPPPPPPPPP!!"

"Do you have to slurp those noodles so loudly!?" Lena shouted smacking Ikki in the back of his head, making the large Team Atmos Grunt choke.

"GURK! GAK!" Ikki sputtered with his hands at his throat as the noodle stand chef stared at him.

"Are you choking sir!?" The chef asked about to jump from behind the stand. "Don't worry…I'll save…"

"Leave him, good sir…" Admin Maxwell requested earning a glare from the chef and Ikki (whose face was starting to turn blue). "I'll get him, you just get to working on my special order…"

"You sure squinty?" the Chef asked blinking a few times as Ikki's movements began to slow down slightly.

"…I happen to be versed in first aid sir," Admin Maxwell replied slowly standing up from his seat.

"Well…okay," The Chef replied turning back to the built in kitchen.

"So, Admin Maxwell…what's the plan?" Lena asked before slowly enjoying her noodles.

Before Maxwell spoke, the mysterious shadowed man performed the Heimlich maneuver on the now purple faced Ikki. A few seconds later, with a powerful force, Maxwell forced the noodles out of Ikki's throat and onto the ground. "…baka…"

"AAH! My noodles!" Ikki cried tears streaming from his eyes as he knelt down on the ground over the dirt covered noodles. "N-No!"

"…is he always like that?" Maxwell asked pointing towards Ikki with his cane. Lena immediately smirked and nodded towards Maxwell, making the admin shake his head in disappointment. "…damn…fine I didn't expect this kind of thing when I was taking my vacation…"

"Um…sorry sir," Lena muttered rubbing the back of her head placing her empty bowl of noodles back on the counter of the stand. "It was his fault…"

"I don't care whose fault it is!" Maxwell shouted snapping his cane in the ground, making both Team Atmos Grunts flinch. "I had to cancel the rest of my vacation because of this! When I get a call when I was enjoying my hot spring tour retreat, my month long vacation gets cut short cause you two grunts couldn't deliver a simple package! All you had to do was get to Torreo City and you'd be set!"

"In our defense…" Ikki started as the chef placed Maxwell's large order on the counter before the admin. "…it's not an everyday package that…"

BONK!

"Ow!" Ikki moaned rubbing his head.

Placing his cane on the counter, Maxwell slowly took a whiff of his specially prepared Lobster and Miso Ramen noodles before snatching a pair of bamboo chopsticks that were set up on the counter. "Did I say that I care for your excuses?"

"No! Now…if the intelligence we've is correct, then you have that pendant."

"Yes, sir," Lena stated placing the pedant on the counter next to Maxwell while he enjoyed his noodles. "We were able to keep this here, and we know that the package won't leave without it…"

With a silent slurp, Maxwell was able to finish his noodles in record making time, and scoop up the pedant in his fingers. "I…urp…I see…I don't care if it takes all night…we're going to find that package."

Standing from his seat, Maxwell turned away from the stand, lifting his cane from the counter to place it onto the ground to help support his weight. And just as the Admin was about to leave…

"Uh, sir?" The Noodle chef stated lifting up a small sheet of paper. "Your bill sir…"

"Oh, right, good sir," Maxwell replied lifting up the cane towards the confused Noodle Chef. "Your payment is right here."

Before the Noodle Chef could say something, a light blue powder shot into the chef's face, making him waver slightly… "Oh…pretty, pretty birdies…nighty night…" Then, all of a sudden the chef fall backwards into his stand with a slightly loud crash.

"Whoa! That was cool!" Ikki exclaimed as Maxwell spun the cane in his hand a few times before whapping it into the ground. "What was that?"

"Yes…well, I am actually very cool," Maxwell sighed reaching over the counter towards the cash register. "Now, as soon as I clean out the register, we're starting our retrieval mission…"

"Um, did you know that Admin Maxwell was a common thief, Lena?" Ikki asked looking down at the female grunt.

"I heard rumors," Lena muttered.

"I can hear you both, you know," Maxwell sighed pocketing the surprising large amount of cash. "You want a taste of this sleep powder?"

Meanwhile, at the Pokemon Center's cafeteria…

"…so, when a trainer loses a battle," Miles thought while sitting back in the booth facing Valerie and Kurai at the table. "They have to fork over half of the money they have in their pocket?"

"Yep!" Val answered before taking a bite of her strawberry parfait.

"So…it's like gambling?" Miles asked crossing his arms.

"No, its tradition," Kurai replied lifting up the slice of pizza he had ordered. "Trainers have been doing it even past the days of Champion Red of the Kanto Region…"

"Still sounds like gambling to me," Miles retorted lowering his head.

"It's not gambling," Kurai protested.

"Well, anyway, Kurai, where did you put our pokemon?" Val asked putting the spoon into the empty parfait glass.

"I had Nurse Joy drop them off in our room," Kurai replied turning towards Miles. "Yours included…and I assume that you're going to stay in the same room?"

"I take it this is like a hotel," Miles sighed reaching for his slightly thinner wallet.

"Kurai!" Val scolded, punching Kurai in the shoulder…hard! Then with a sweet smile, Val turned towards Miles. "Of course you can stay with us, and rooms are free for trainers here."

"Wow, I guess there are some perks to being a trainer after all," Miles laughed crossing his arms over his chest. "…is there anything else I should know about being a trainer?"

"Walk and talk, Miles, walk and talk," Val stated standing up from the booth, raising her hand to Miles with a smile on her face. "I'll tell ya what a trainer is can do while we head to the room!"

Before Miles could say a thing, Val grabbed Miles by his hand, pulling the new trainer to his feet and dragging him towards the room. Kurai, on the other hand, he just sat chuckled in his seat as he clapped his hands together. "How weird…the ties come, stringing fates closer and closer together…"

"Hey Kurai! Hurry up!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, coming!" Kurai shouted back to Val, slowly standing up from his seat, a small smirk appearing on his face. '_Man…I gotta stop doing those internal monologues…'_

A few minutes later…

"…and that's a gym battle…" Val explained while the three trainers stood outside the wooden door to the trainer's room.

"Yeesh, I didn't think there was so much to take in," Miles admitted, a little tired from the trainer's handbook known as Valerie Sinclair.

"Well, it might be a bit easier if you see a real gym battle," Val replied rubbing the back of her head slowly opening the door to the room…

"_-Miles!-_"

WHAM!

"ACK!" Being kicked in the jaw by Riolu's small little black foot, Miles staggered backwards before Riolu landed on the ground striking a small pose. "What the?"

"Some pokemon you've got there…" Kurai snickered while Val just giggled before the she walked into the room.

"Riolu!" Miles snarled as Sealth was gently pushed out of the room, having the door close behind him. "What in the world is wrong with you?!"

"_-My name's __**Lee**__, now!-_" Riolu…er, Lee, barked tapping his foot into the ground a few times.

"Lee?" Miles asked tilting his head to the side. "Where did that come from?"

"…did something happen, Sealth?" Kurai asked kneeling down towards the saluting Treecko.

"_-Well, you see sir, when we were dropped off by Nurse Joy,-_" Sealth explained crossing his arms at Riolu and narrowing his yellow eyes. "_-…while we were waiting for you, Riolu…I mean, Lee turned on the small TV that was in the room. I think he was watching a Kung Fu movie, cause he's been punching and kicking the air during the movie and ever since it ended.-_"

"Heh…congrats on the new name, Lee," Kurai chuckled turning towards Riolu…Lee, who was pumping his arms in the air.

"_-Thanks bug head!-_" Lee barked throwing a few kicks in the air.

"B-Bug head?" Kurai muttered with his hair antennae pointed upwards in surprise. '_Again with that name? Where is that coming from?'_

"Heh, nice one Riolu," Miles chuckled getting a glare from Kurai, who's antennae seemed to become demonic spikes.

"_-It's Lee!-_" Riolu pointed out tugging on his scarf a few times.

The door opened up again, this time revealing Val standing in the door way dressed in a baggy black shirt and red lounge pants, her hat was off her hair and in her hand was a deck of playing cards. "Sup guys!"

"…did you just change while we were talking?" Kurai asked raising an eyebrow as Sealth and Lee ran back into the room.

"Correcto mundo," Val laughed holding up the cards walking back into the room. "How about we kill the rest of the night with a game of cards?"

"…she's always this impulsive…" Kurai muttered to Miles before walking into the room.

"Why are you telling me this?" Miles asked with a slight blush on his face.

Meanwhile, with the sun beginning to set down behind the town…

"…how long has it been since I walked through these gates…"

…a strong breeze flew through the town's entrance, wiping the long tails of the silver overcoat (with a dark blue trim on it) that hung on the muscular figure's body as he walked forward into the lit up streets thanks to the streetlights. As he adjusted his matching silver hat with a dark blue belt on the rim to cover his face, a few people took a second look at the guy as he passed them. "…and yet it seems different in a new light."

"Hopefully…this is the right place…"

Snapping one of the pokeballs from the back of his dark blue belt, the overcoat wearing man tossed the ball onto his black leathered gloves…spinning the pokeball on his fingers.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Lee:** _-Hey…what's this supposed to be?-_

**Sealth:** _-This is a preview…-_

**Phoenix:** _-Yeah! We're supposed to tell the reviewers what's supposed to happen next chapter!-_

**Lee:** _-Sweet! Hey, wait…what is actually happening next chapter?-_

**Phoenix:** _-…the writer didn't tell us really…-_

**Sealth:** _-Why do we even have a writer?-_

_**Next time – **__**Chapter 8: The Atmos Intros**_

**Lee:** _-…why's it named that?-_

**Sealth:** _-Like I said…why do we need a writer?-_


	8. Chapter 8: The Atmos Intros

Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

_**The Atmos Intros**_

_**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

_Time: ??_

_Location: Unknown_

Miles slowly walked through the dark area where he was at, looking left and right, trying to figure out where he was. However…

"Where the heck am I?"

Continuing his walk towards…wherever…

"Miles!"

"Huh?" Miles questioned turning around at the sound of his voice…

…his eyes widened, standing behind him stood his father…only over twenty feet tall, his goofy smile on his face while his arms were crossed over his chest. "Son! I'm happy that you've decided to become a trainer on your free will."

"What?!" Miles shouted narrowing his eyes at his larger father. "I never agreed to this!"

"I know, you bring a tear to your father's eye," Duke sniffled brushing a fake tear to his eyes. "…you know what…"

"No…" Miles replied a little bit afraid of his extremely large father.

Lifting a large megaphone up, many banners with simple chibi like faces of Miles etched into them rose up behind Duke. Miles sweatdropped at the sight of his father…and that sweatdrop grew as…

"Miles! Miles! He's our trainer!" Duke cheered into the megaphone. "If he can't do it…I'll kick him into gear to get him to do it!"

Miles just lowered his head with a loud sigh…

"Like now!" Duke shouted pulling his foot backwards ready to kick Miles.

"WHAT?!" Miles shouted lifting his arms up before Duke's foot was about to collide with him.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 9:59 a.m._

_Location: Burgundy Town,_

_Pokemon Center, _

_Trainer Room No. 7_

Lee (Riolu remember?) was curled asleep on Miles's chest, enjoying the dark room as he quietly breathed in and out…

Truly a peaceful scene between Pokemon and Trainer…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Miles screamed loudly, immediately sitting up straight sending Lee flying into the air.

BAM!

Taking a few breaths, Miles lowered his head to put his hands into his hair. "Dang it…even in my dreams he annoys me to no end…"

"_-What the heck was that for!-_" Lee shouted stomping up to Miles on the bed. "_-I was having one of the greatest dreams I've had!-_"

"Riolu…you've only experienced sleep…what, three times?" Miles asked rubbing his eyes a few times. "And besides, I never told you sleep on my chest…"

"_-Hey! First off, my name's Lee!-_" Lee barked slapping his chest with his paw a few times. "_-Secondly, Phoenix and Sealth slept with that cute girl and bug head. So, why shouldn't I?-_"

"…I don't think Lee will stick," Miles sighed tapping Riolu off his lap to get out of the bed. "And if all the other pokemon jumped off a cliff, would you?"

"_-That depends…what's a cliff?-_" Lee asked with a few question marks appearing over his head.

"Oh sure, you know sarcasm, how to be annoying and to be a thief," Miles sighed kneeling down to his backpack to grab a few of his clean clothes. "And yet you don't know what a cliff is."

"_-Yeah, but come on, I'm still tired!-_" Lee pouted stretching his arms.

"That's because you stayed up watching kung-fu movies last night," Miles sighed pulling out a few of the items from his backpack to get to his clothes. "I don't know how Val and Kurai managed to sleep through…hey, where'd Val and Kurai go?"

It was true, Valerie and Kurai were no where in the room, and neither were their backpacks or pokemon.

"_-How should I know that Miles?-_" Lee retorted jumping to the pillow on the bed to relax a little more.

"…yeah…" Miles sighed before he began to change his clothes. "You're a detail kinda guy…"

"_-Hey!-_"

A few minutes later…

"Well, what exactly are we going to do?" Miles questioned adjusting his white denim vest.

"_-Don't know…don't care,-_" Lee muttered turning away from Miles. "_-Need sleep…_"

"Yeesh…now you're lazy?" Miles sighed beginning to put his sleeping clothes back into his backpack until something caught his eye. "Huh?"

Pulling that something from his backpack, Miles raised an eyebrow at the brown paper wrapped box. That's when it hit him. "Oh right, I promised that weird merchant guy to deliver this…after Riolu stole that scarf."

"_-Its Lee! And I won that scarf fair and square!-_" Lee shouted.

"…yeah, after you stole it…" Miles replied shaking his head before looking back into his backpack.

BUZZ! BUZZ!

"Huh?" Miles muttered digging back into the backpack, this time pulling out a small black device that resembled that of stopwatch, but yet looked like a cell phone. Whatever the device was, it was vibrating and had a symbol on a phone on the screen. "…I have no idea what this thing is…"

"_-ZZZZZZZ-_" Lee was snoring loudly, making Miles sweatdrop at his pokemon sleeping.

Shaking his head, Miles slowly poked the phone symbol on the device, causing a small beeping sound…

"MILES! ABOUT TIME YOU ANSWERED!"

That sudden outburst caused Miles to throw the device in the air slightly, and then juggle it in his hands before catching it with a dark look on his face. "Oh, please…this can't be…"

"Son! Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to pick this up?" Duke asked with a screen of his face appearing on the small device, it looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep since Miles last saw him.

"Dad!? What the heck is this thing?" Miles asked looking at the machine.

"It's a Pokegear! I had one mailed to me before we moved to Serene Town," Duke explained with a goofy smirk on his face. "It was originally going to be your birthday present…but, since you wanted to become a trainer, I decided to send it with ya! That was excellent timing!"

"Dad…I didn't want to be a trainer," Miles sighed, knowing full well that his statement would be ignored.

"That's great! So…where exactly are you?" Duke asked with a smile appearing on his face while the young Poochyena appeared on the screen, wagging her tail. "Oh, Luna wants to say hi too!"

"Hi Luna," Miles chuckled rubbing the back of his head. "A-Anyway, I'm in Burgundy Town and…"

"Burgundy Town already!?" Duke asked with a loud gasp as he and Luna took a step back from the screen. "How'd you get in there in a day?!"

"…let's just say I had some motivation…" Miles sighed remembering the Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot chasing him and Lee. There was a nightmare waiting to happen for sure.

"Are you actually going to follow your brother?" Duke asked tilting his head to the side.

Miles turned his head to the side, apparently his brother Axel might've taken this route that was suggested to Miles. "…what did he do again?"

"Oh…well…never mind then son," Duke yawned along with Luna. "Listen…you mind giving me a call every once in a while? Just to let me know how you're doing."

A smile appeared on Miles's face, it actually looked like his father was going to act like a father. "…sure…I'll remember that dad."

Maybe this would change things for the better…

"GOOD!" Duke laughed loudly, making Lee jump up from the pillow. "Cause if you don't…I'll track you down and make sure to wake you up with my Sabers Body Slam Wake up Special every morning!"

…forget that last part…

"…later dad…" Miles stated dully ready to turn the Poketech off.

"Miles! Don't you dare hang up on…" Duke started before the Poketech was turned off.

"Well, this is going to be good to have," Miles stated attaching his new Poketech to his belt loop. "Although…I think I might change the ring tone…"

"_-Will you please let me sleep!-_" Lee shouted.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 10:22 a.m._

_Location: Burgundy Town_

After getting fully changed into his usual attire, Miles was back on the streets of the small town looking for the small shop that the Merchant in Temp Town had written on the package. With a little bit of struggle with Lee, Miles was able to get the Riolu into his pokeball.

"_-Miles! Let me out of here!-_" Lee shouted from his pokeball, trying to get out…unsuccessfully.

"No way Riolu…er, I mean, Lee," Miles coughed, still trying to get used to the new nickname that Lee gave himself. "I don't want to risk it…"

"_-I can take care of myself!-_" Lee barked.

"…its not that, I'm worried that you'll cause trouble again," Miles sighed stopping in the middle of the street to rub the back of his head. "Now keep quiet, I'm starting to get weird looks."

"_-You don't need my help with that…-_" Lee chuckled.

"…great…" Miles moaned shaking his head.

That's when something caught Miles's eye; there was a large crowd of people gathered in the street. Unfortunately, it wasn't really it important to him…

"_-Cool! What's going on over here?-_" Lee shouted running off.

"What the?!" Miles shouted turning to see the Riolu running away from him. "Rio…Lee! How'd you get out!?"

Lee wasn't answering; instead, he was sneaking through the legs of the crowd. And so, with a sigh (and going against his better judgment), Miles slowly began to descend to the crowd.

"Step on up! Step on up! And try your luck!"

After getting through the crowd of people, Miles caught his breath to see Lee standing in front of the crowd, watching as a young man stood in front of a small stand that had three cards laid face down on the stand.

The man pointed to the card in the middle…

"Oh! Sorry sir! But you chose incorrectly!"

"Dang it!" The young man shouted pulling his hair.

"That's the breaks," the vendor at the game chuckled taking the cash that was on the stand. "Anyone else care to try their luck and skill?"

As soon as the young man had stepped away, Miles saw who the vendor was, and was actually quite surprised to see that it was a person his own age…and a girl as well!

Shuffling the cards in her hand, the girl had slightly long dark hair that reached the base of her shoulders, but was covered up by a black hat that had a pair of goggles on it. His rather small body was actually slightly muscular and was covered up by a black T-shirt with a camouflaged vest zipped up halfway. On her face was a bandage and yet a large grin as she lifted her hand towards Miles. "How about you? Feel like testing your luck? Place any bet and if you win, you get double!"

"Uh…thanks, but no thanks," Miles chuckled shaking his head. "But I'm kinda in…"

"_-He's in!-_" Lee laughed while slapping a rather large amount of money (all of the money that Miles had left) on the stand.

Miles's eyes widened at the sight of the cash and immediately pulled out his wallet. Sure enough, it was empty! "Riol…er, Lee! When did you get in my wallet?!"

"Well, well, well, looks like your pokemon took the initiative," The girl chuckled lifting up the wad of cash. "And it looks like a thousand is here…"

With a sigh, Miles walked up to the stand rubbing the back of his head, one day he'd have to find if there was a lock to put on pokeballs. "…fine, since it's on the table, what're the rules?"

The girl smirked as she lifted the three cards up, all three of them aces…

…the ace of hearts, the ace of spades, and the ace of clubs…

"Quite simple little man," The girl stated placing the cards on the stand. "All you need to do is find the heart and you win double your bet."

"Alright…" Miles replied watching the three cards carefully as the girl reached down for the cards, although in the back of his mind, Miles was a little confused why the girl called him little man.

"_-You can do it Miles!-_" Lee cheered jumping up to Miles's shoulders to pump his paws into the air.

Soon the cards were shuffled on the stand; rather fast really, it was just enough for Miles to watch the cards. Riolu…er, Lee was keeping his eyes on the cards as well.

The cards were immediately lined up in front of Miles and Lee, their backs of blue facing towards the sky. The girl smiled widely and placed both of her hands onto the stand. "Now then…take your pick little man!"

"…" Now that little man comment was starting to get a little annoying. "Lee…since you placed the money on the table…you chose."

"_-Really!? Cool!-_" Lee barked with his tail wagging.

"I hope that's alright," Miles questioned rubbing the back of his head.

"Go right ahead, it's your money," The girl chuckled waving her hand. "Now, take your pick little pokemon."

"_-Then I'll choose this one!-_" Lee announced pointing towards the card in the middle.

"Very well…" The girl stated slowly lifting the card up towards her…

…and the moment her eyes saw the card's picture, her face grimaced. "Urk!"

Placing the card back on the stand, the girl showed that the card was the Ace of Hearts.

"_-Hey…did I win?-_" Lee asked tilting his head slightly.

"Uh, yeah, you did Lee," Miles sighed lowering his head.

"Fine! Here's your money," The girl scoffed tossing the money back to Miles, the wad of cash twice as big. "Congrats…you like to keep it running?"

"Uh, no thanks," Miles replied pocketing the cash in his hands, despite the fact that Lee was complaining to play some more. "Later…"

"Yeah, yeah," The girl scoffed while Miles walked away from the stand. "Anyone else want to try their luck?"

"…I'll try…" A snobby and cold voice sneered as someone pushed right through the crowds to the side.

"Very well, sir!" The girl stated shuffling the cards in her hand before holding them up. "Place your be…"

"Nice job Maxwell!" Lena announced stepping out of the crowd.

"…although, I thought the plan was to find her with the pendant," Ikki questioned rubbing his chin as a large blood vessel appeared on Maxwell's forehead.

BONK!

"OW!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 10:45_

_Location: Burgundy Town,_

_Shopping Center_

"Hey, thanks a lot kid!"

"Yeah…" Miles muttered rubbing the back of his head…mainly because Lee had smacked him in the back of his head for leaving the stand a few minutes ago. Needless to say, Lee went straight back into the ball after that.

It took him awhile, but Miles managed to find the right vendor for the package and deliver the package to the vendor. However, it wasn't something Miles was expecting…

"Aw, he sent me chocolates!" The store vendor squealed in delight lifting the box of chocolates in her delicate hands.

'_He just wanted me to deliver something to his girlfriend!?'_ That thought plagued Miles's mind before he exited the store after receiving the thanks for the gift.

As soon as Miles had the door closed behind him, he immediately grabbed the sides of his hair. "Gah! Is everyone I'm going to meet going to be this crazy?!"

"_-Sure makes things interesting though, Miles,-_" Lee chuckled appearing next to Miles with a large grin on his face.

"…how many times do I have to tell you to stay in your pokeball?" Miles sighed shaking his head at Lee.

"_-Heh, no matter how many times you tell me, I'll never stay in there for long!-_" Lee barked tapping his puffed out chest in pride. "_-Unlike Caterpie, I love sneaking out into the sunlight!-_"

Miles just slapped his forehead with a loud smack. "Maybe I should invest in a leash and collar?"

"_-No way, it'll mess up my scarf combination!-_" Lee scoffed, adjusting the scarf around his neck with his paws. "_-And if you try, I'll take you down in a second…-_"

"Great, now we're getting into the threats," Miles sighed. "Return to your pokeball!"

"_-Never!-_"

"Outta our way!"

"Huh?" Miles questioned before a group of three pushed him off to the side, making him crash into the building behind him. "OW!"

"_-Miles! Hey! Are you okay?-_" Lee asked jumping over to a slightly dazed Miles.

"Did anyone get the license of that truck?" Miles asked with dazed over eyes.

"_-Hey! The only one who can hurt Miles is me!-_" Lee shouted before giving chase after the three who had pushed Miles over (two of them seemed real familiar for some reason…)

Shaking his head, Miles slowly stood up and began to chase after Lee passing a bench that had a man sitting on it with a newspaper. "Ri…Lee! Wait a minute!"

Slowly, the newspaper lowered to show a silver overcoat wearing man with shinning glasses over his face. Adjusting his hat, the man chuckled slightly. "My…how the wheel of destiny turns in weird directions…"

A mysterious wind blew through the street, blowing the mysterious man's overcoat tails…and then, in a second, the man disappeared with the breeze.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 10:50 a.m._

_Location: Just outside Temp Forest,_

_Burgundy Town Entrance_

"Admin Maxwell! We did it!" Lena laughed as the three stopped running in front of the entrance of the woods.

Ikki stopped last, a large sack slung over his shoulder, and his face flushed. "Y-Yeah…we did manage to recapture the package, but we didn't use Admin Maxwell's plan at all. In fact, all we did was notice that there was a large group of people standing in front of the package's little scam job. If Admin Maxwell didn't here the word gamble, we wouldn't even be…"

BONK!

"OW!" Ikki shouted using his free hand to rub his newest bruise.

Turning around with his cane in his hands, Admin Maxwell glared at Ikki (although, his eyes were squinting so it was hard to tell). A small breeze emerged from the woods, blowing the long white overcoat that stuck to his thin frame, exposing the baggy black pants and silver shirt underneath, a black wing on the chest. And with a tap of his cane to the ground, Maxwell combed his feathered back black hair, to show his (slightly larger than normal) forehead. "…You need to learn to shut up…"

"Admin Maxwell, now what are we going to do?" Lena asked saluting to Maxwell.

"…quite simple really," Maxwell replied turning towards the forest, his cane still in the ground. "We'll cut through the forest, we'll lose anyone who might be following us, and head to Gardner City through the caves instead of the main roads that lead out of Burgundy Town."

"So, we're basically retreating?" Ikki asked tilting his head to the side.

BONK! BONK!

"OWIE!" Ikki shouted kneeling to the ground.

"…we're not retreating," Maxwell coughed tapping the top of the cane in his hand a few times. "…we're charging forward…to future victories!"

"Still sounds like retreating…" Ikki muttered slowly standing up.

SMACK!

"ACK!" Ikki shouted falling backwards with the sack falling on top of him.

"…you really need to shut up…" Maxwell sighed shaking his head and snapping the cane to the ground. "It'll save you a lot of money in health insurance…"

"Y-Yes sir…" Ikki moaned slowly standing up.

"Now then…off we go…" Maxwell chuckled taking a step towards the forest…

"_-HOLD IT!-_"

Stopping immediately, Maxwell slowly turned around, Lena and Ikki following suite to see a small Riolu standing behind the three of them…but, there was a red scarf around the small pokemon's neck. The Riolu seemed to stand as if it was challenging the three Team Atmos members…

…However, Maxwell just smirked at the small pup like pokemon. "Oh my…what is this?"

"Um, it's a Riolu…" Ikki answered.

"_-You owe my trainer an apology!-_" Lee barked loudly pointing his paw towards the three.

"I think Admin Maxwell can see that Ikki!" Lena snapped making the larger Team Atmos member step back slightly.

"Quite true…" Maxwell sighed reaching for the back of his belt. "However…it's a rarity to see this kind of pokemon in the Saora region…I wouldn't mind adding it to my personal collection…"

"_-Hello, I've already got a trainer!-_"

With a pokeball armed in his hand, Maxwell smirked before he tossed the ball towards Riolu…

"_-If you're not going to listen…-_"

…however, the Riolu immediately jumped towards the pokeball, slamming its foot into the pokeball, sending it flying…

BAM!

"My eye!" Lena shouted falling backwards with the pokeball lodged into her left eye.

"_-Bull's eye!-_"

"…oh my…" Maxwell stated in a monotone voice looking down at the downed Team Atmos grunt.

"Ow, that's gotta hurt," Ikki chuckled, for once not being the one to get hurt.

"…Hmm…it would appear that Riolu already has a trainer," Maxwell sighed slightly disappointed before raising an eyebrow. "…perhaps though, we can have some fun…"

"Rio…uh, Lee!"

"Huh?" Ikki and Maxwell questioned.

All of a sudden, Miles ran up behind Lee, surprising the young pokemon and lifting him up into his arms. "Why do you continue to do this kind of stuff?"

"_-But Miles! These are the guys that knocked you over!-_" Lee protested trying to get out of Miles's grip.

"Wait a minute…" Miles stated getting a clear view of the three that were at the forest's entrance. Immediately recognizing Ikki and Lena… "Uh oh…"

"Hey sir…this is the guy we told ya about," Ikki muttered into Maxwell's ear. "The one we ran into while in the forest…"

"Oh, I see," Maxwell sighed stepping forward while Lena stood up. "It would appear that you know my two subordinates…"

"Um, not a name basis," Miles replied a little confused as to where this was going.

"…so you must be a young trainer…" Maxwell sighed shaking his head, before lifting up one of the six pokeballs he had on his belt up. "Tell me…what did you see?"

"…see what?" Miles questioned raising an eyebrow.

"I see…" Maxwell stated lowering his arm. "Then I suppose there's no harm…"

"_-Now hold on here!-_" Lee barked lifting his paw up towards Maxwell._ "-You gotta apologize to Miles for knock him down! And to me, because I'm the only one who can knock him down!-_"

"…thanks for caring Lee…" Miles moaned.

"Listen get outta here kid!" Ikki roared slamming his foot into the ground. "The last thing we need here is someone to see us take this sack into the woods to use for our illegal needs…"

A cold breeze flew over field as Miles and Lee blinked in confusion while a large blood vessel appeared on Maxwell's head.

WHAM!

"OW!"

"…it's too bad…" Maxwell sighed loudly raising the pokeball up. "I apologize in advance…"

"Huh?" Miles questioned as he and his Riolu tilted their heads to the side.

"…cause of this idiot over here, your life span has just shortened quite drastically…" Maxwell tossed the pokeball straight into the air, and when the pokeball was beginning its descent, the ball opened, releasing a burst of light that immediately crashed into the ground.

"…then…"

The light formed itself into what appeared to a rather large, sleek cat like pokemon that had dark purple fur with a long tail that ended in a four pointed star. As the new pokemon slowly stepped around the area, keeping its weird glowing eyes on Miles, a powerful static aura appeared around its body… "Grrrr…"

…Maxwell caught the pokeball in his hand. "…we'll have to say adieu, to you…Mira? If you would be so kind to do the honors…"

"Eliminate them both with Zap Cannon…"

"_-Miles…what's going on?-_" Lee asked looking up as a powerful surge of electricity began to charge up into the mysterious electric pokemon.

"We're doomed, Lee…it's been nice knowing you…" Miles sighed with tears appearing in his eyes. "…wait…no it wasn't…"

"Luck wasn't on your side today kid…" Maxwell commanded as the Luxray had a large powerful orb of electricity in front of its face. "Say hello to the man upstairs for me or downstairs…Zap Cannon…fire…"

"Shadow Ball!"

Just before the Luxray, Mira, could fire the Zap Cannon, several orbs of darkness crashed into the ground, sending up a large amount of dust. The force made everyone stop and watch as the dust float down to the ground. Maxwell narrowed his brow and barred his teeth. "Where the hell did that come from?!"

"Sir? What's going on here?" Ikki asked.

"-_Miles…I'm seriously getting confused here,-_" Lee exclaimed finally getting free from Miles's grip.

"Join the club," Miles gulped, thanking the higher up for that last minute save.

A loud booming voice filled the air, making everyone in the area to look around in confusion. "Now, now, now…attacking a trainer without a proper battle?"

"What the? Where's that coming from?" Lena questioned raising a pokeball as Ikki did the same.

"Article two of the international PKM Battle Regulations, a trainer must never intentionally aim at an opposing trainer with an attack."

"_-Miles! Up there!-_" Lee barked pointing up towards the tallest tree in the area.

Slowly, everyone turned towards where Lee was pointing towards and immediately their eyes widened (except for Maxwell's) at the sight at the top of the tree. Standing on the very top stood another mysterious man, this one dressed in a large silver overcoat with blue trim on it over his semi muscular body. The wind blew the man's coattails, showing the baggy black pants and steel toe boots (it was a miracle that the man was able to stand on the tip of the tree).

With a matching silver hat with a blue belt sowed into it, the man's very dark hair (that resembled somewhat blue) that jutted back also blew in the slight breeze. With his hair blowing back, his tanned, developed face with a few hairs on his chin and a pair of thin rimmed, black glasses was shown glaring down at the group below…

And with his right arm raised at a ninety degree angle, a second mysterious pokemon stood on his arm. With pure white fur covering most of its body, the pokemon resembled that of a wolf with a purple face, claws and sharp tail, the pokemon glared at the sight below with blood red eyes…

"…am I destined to run into freaks?" Miles asked bluntly.

The overcoat man and the dark pokemon overheard Miles, immediately falling from the tree face first into the ground with a large crash.

Everyone just sweatdropped at the sight of the man's face fault, Maxwell recovered first and shook his head. "Oh please…how many annoyances are we going to face today?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" The overcoat man shouted jumping to his feet pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "What's with everyone putting me down?!"

"Ab…Absol," The white furred pokemon answered shaking the dirt off its fur.

"…don't you start Absol," The overcoat man coughed before turning towards Miles. "And you…"

"Huh? Me?" Miles asked pointing towards himself before the overcoat man ran towards him.

Standing at least a good foot and a half over him, Miles gulped as the overcoat man glared down at him. "…you ruined my dramatic entrance!"

"…you've got to be kidding me…" Miles scoffed to the side.

"Its important to have a cool introduction, never forget this kid!" The overcoat man laughed loudly lifting his gloved hand into the air with a smile on his face. "It's key to leave an impression while you're a trainer!"

"…this guy kinda reminds of dad…" Miles muttered as Lee jumped onto his shoulder.

"_-I think I like this guy Miles,-_" Lee laughed with his eyes closed.

"…perfect…just perfect," Miles sighed lowering his head.

"Ahem…anyway," The overcoat man coughed before extending his hand towards the three members of Team Atmos. "I can never forgive a person who tries to attack an innocent trainer just for the fun of it…"

"Does that mean he approves of it if it's not for fun?" Ikki questioned only to receive a slap to his face, courtesy of Lena. "Ow!"

"Shut up you moron!" Lena spat out as Maxwell raised his hand up to the two Team Atmos Grunts. "Huh? Admin Maxwell?"

"I must say…I'm intrigued good sir…" Maxwell chuckled snapping his fingers as Mira jumped in front of him. "If you're confident…then put your money where your mouth is…"

"How about we fight like two gentlemen?" The overcoat man retorted as the Absol jumped onto his broad shoulder. "Article one of the International PKM Battle Regulations, when two trainers meet eyes…they have thrown the gauntlet down!"

"You two grunts…take the package into forest and continue onto Gardner City," Maxwell whispered as Ikki and Lena nodded.

"Yes, sir!" Lena and Ikki shouted, saluting towards Maxwell before turning to run into the forest.

Just as the two were about to enter into the forest, a regular pokeball appeared in the air before the two. The ball snapped open to release a very large light that immediately grew to an exponential size, forming into a very large metallic snake like pokemon, with spikes of steel from its body.

Roaring loudly, the large pokemon forced Lena and Ikki to step backwards. "What in the!?"

"And where do you two think you're going?" The overcoat man asked wagging his finger. "Remember Article One, you two threw the gauntlet down as well, and if you run away…well, you'll just make Steelix very mad…"

"Wait, now you're breaking the rules!" Miles pointed out.

"No I'm not!" The overcoat man laughed placing his hands at his hips as the Absol sighed in disgust. "Article two specifically states that I need to declare an attack in order to break the article…but, if a pokemon acts on its own, then I'm exempt of all responsibilities!"

"_-Miles, I have no idea what he just said!-_" Riolu shouted with dizzy marks appearing where his eyes were.

"…basically, he found a loophole in the rules…" Miles sighed slapping his forehead. This guy really did act like his dad; only this one had a more… 'unique' fashion sense…

"Hey kid…you got a name?" The overcoat man whispered, keeping his eyes on Maxwell.

"Huh? Uh…" Miles was a little worried giving his name out to this stranger…but, since he kinda saved his life… "…its Miles…Miles Sabers…"

"…Sabers?" The overcoat man questioned raising an eyebrow at the mention of Miles's last name. Shaking it off, the overcoat man raised his hand up towards the two Team Atmos grunts. "Very well…I'm Cruz Wolfgang…nice ta meet ya kid…"

"Hmm…interesting tactics," Maxwell whistled, keeping an eye on the Steelix that growled at him and his two grunts. "We'll accept your challenge Mr. Coat…"

"Now here's how this will go down!" Cruz shouted raising his hand up. "Squinty, you and I will face each other, mono-a-mono! And your two flunkies, Brawn Boy and Black Eye, it'll be a two-on-one battle against the kid here!"

"…squinty…?"

"Brawn Boy?"

"BLACK EYE!?"

'_If he's going to refer to me as kid, why'd he even ask for my name?'_ Miles thought before shaking his head. "And wait a minute, why do you need me to help you? You look like you've got this under control…"

"Your grunts get lucky and beat the kid in a fair battle," Cruz continued, ignoring Miles's complaints. "I'll recall Steelix…so you'll be free to do whatever you want…but, if you beat me, we'll pretend none of this ever happened."

"Sounds sound," Maxwell chuckled with a blood vessel pulsating on the side of his head. "But…where's the flipside of that coin?" 

"Heh, not bad, Squinty!" Cruz laughed loudly. "For closed eyes, you've got good perception!"

"_-How does he see like that?-_" Lee asked with a question mark appearing over his head.

"Cause if I win, I'll deliver swift justice," Cruz chuckled crossing his arms over his chest. "And if the kid here wins…the hammer will fall!"

"What is he talking about?" Ikki asked with a sweatdrop on his face.

"…I have no clue," Lena replied.

"He means you two are going to battle that kid in a tag match," Maxwell explained stabbing his cane into the ground to raise his hands up in a defensive manner. "And I'm facing that silver overcoat man…for the pride of our team, you're to win!"

"Yes sir!" Lena and Ikki shouted each lifting up a pokeball.

Cruz lifted his hand up towards the three Atmos members. "Now, can you wait a second? I want to ask this kid here a question…"

"You have a minute," Maxwell sighed turning around to see the Steelix snickering at him. '_Who is this person? He seems to know what he's doing…and his timing are exceptional!'_

Pulling Miles and Lee to the side, Cruz stood with his back to the three Team Atmos members. And with a smile on his face, Cruz lowered to be eye level with Miles. "Okay, Sabers, first, I want to say that I didn't mean to have you get involve with this…"

"Well, okay," Miles chuckled rubbing the back of his head.

"…But, now we're stuck in this mess," Cruz muttered rubbing his chin. "So, we'll have to try our hardest…what pokemon do you have?"

"Uh, I've got Lee right here," Miles stated rubbing the back of Lee's head, making the Riolu wag his tail wildly. "And a Caterpie…"

"_-I'm still working on a name for her…-_" Lee stated rubbing his chin.

"I see…a unique starter and a basic for a beginner," Cruz stated reaching into his pocket. "But…we'll have to use the ace up my sleeve…or in this case my pocket."

"…I get the point," Miles sighed shaking his head.

"Now, let out your Caterpie so I can get a look at her," Cruz requested pulling his clenched hand up from his pocket.

In the next second, Caterpie was on the ground in front of Miles, looking down slightly. "_-Um…h-hey, M-Miles…-_"

"Hmm…A shy Caterpie, that's new, but," Cruz stated holding his hand up to show that he held onto four small weird candies. "Here, give these to your pokemon."

"What? What are these things?" Miles asked lifting one of the candies up to his eye.

"Heh…" Cruz chuckled standing up straight. "Just trust me, kid…"

Turning back, Cruz narrowed his eyes through his glasses towards the three Team Atmos Members. "We're going to fight the good fight Sabers…we'll need every advantage we've got!"

"You ready?" Maxwell asked as Mira slowly trotted in front of him.

"Use them now or never Sabers," Cruz stated spinning on his heel to face towards the three Atmos Members. "Cause the battle…starts right now!"

Miles nodded and slowly knelt to his to pokemon, holding out the weird candies. "Lee, Caterpie…here…"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Vyser D:** Reviews would be nice…


	9. Chapter 9: The Dynamic!

Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

_**The Dynamic!**_

_**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

"_Your grunts get lucky and beat the kid in a fair battle," Cruz continued, ignoring Miles's complaints. "I'll recall Steelix…so you'll be free to do whatever you want…but, if you beat me, we'll pretend none of this ever happened."_

"_Sounds sound," Maxwell chuckled with a blood vessel pulsating on the side of his head. "But…where's the flipside of that coin?"  
_

"_Heh, not bad, Squinty!" Cruz laughed loudly. "For closed eyes, you've got good perception!"_

"_-How does he see like that?-" Lee asked with a question mark appearing over his head._

"_Cause if I win, I'll deliver swift justice," Cruz chuckled crossing his arms over his chest. "And if the kid here wins…the hammer will fall!"_

"_What is he talking about?" Ikki asked with a sweatdrop on his face._

"…_I have no clue," Lena replied._

"_He means you two are going to battle that kid in a tag match," Maxwell explained stabbing his cane into the ground to raise his hands up in a defensive manner. "And I'm facing that silver overcoat man…for the pride of our team, you're to win!"_

"_Yes sir!" Lena and Ikki shouted each lifting up a pokeball. _

"_Hmm…A shy Caterpie, that's new, but," Cruz stated holding his hand up to show that he held onto four small weird candies. "Here, give these to your pokemon."_

"_What? What are these things?" Miles asked lifting one of the candies up to his eye._

"_Heh…" Cruz chuckled standing up straight. "Just trust me, kid…"_

_Turning back, Cruz narrowed his eyes through his glasses towards the three Team Atmos Members. "We're going to fight the good fight Sabers…we'll need every advantage we've got!"_

"_You ready?" Maxwell asked as Mira slowly trotted in front of him. _

"_Use them now or never Sabers," Cruz stated spinning on his heel to face towards the three Atmos Members. "Cause the battle…starts right now!"_

_Miles nodded and slowly knelt to his to pokemon, holding out the weird candies. "Lee, Caterpie…here…"_

"_-Sweet!-_" Lee announced swiping two of the candies, popping them into his mouth immediately.

"You're supposed to take the wrappers off Lee…" Miles sighed lowering his head as Caterpie slowly munched on the unwrapped candies.

"Hello over there…are you ready yet?" Maxwell asked keeping an eye (or a squinted eye) on Cruz, who was standing to cover Miles from the Team Atmos members' gazes.

"Almost! Just applying a few potions to my partner's pokemon!" Cruz laughed as Absol shook his lowered head.

"Ab…sol…"

"…alright already…" Cruz muttered spinning on his heel to face Miles. "So, we ready here, Sabers?"

"Yeah…but what was the point of this?" Miles asked raising an eyebrow as he stood up.

"…heh, check to see if your pokemon are raring to go," Cruz chuckled crossing his arms. "As soon as your done…we're gonna battle!"

"How exactly do I do that?" Miles questioned with a question mark popping over his head.

"Oh, that's simple," Cruz stated reaching into his pocket, pulling out a silver pokedex that he held in his black gloves. "I assume that you have one of these bad boys…right?"

"Uh, yeah," Miles replied reaching into his pocket to pull out his own pokedex.

"Well, you see, you can use it to see what your pokemon's level is, what its moves are, and its status," Cruz explained raising a finger up to Miles. "So…check them out and we'll begin…that okay with you three?"

"Fine by us," Maxwell sighed shaking his head at the Steelix behind him. '_If only I had Feraligator or Charizard with me…then this wouldn't be a problem…'_

After a few seconds, Miles finally found the scan feature on his pokedex, and looking at both Lee and Caterpie with the machine…Miles's eyes widened. "What the?"

"Okay! We're ready!" Cruz announced while Miles quickly stashed his pokedex into his pocket. "You ready Absol?"

"_-…about time you got this started, Cruz…-_" Absol growled lowering his head, ready to fight.

"Mira! Stand by!" Maxwell shouted snapping his fingers as the Luxray jumped in front of him, growling as well.

"Lee, Caterpie…I guess you two have to go out and battle," Miles stated as Lee ran out on the field while Caterpie crawled after him.

"_-Oh yeah! Let's rock!-_" Lee barked stretching his arms and tail. "_-I feel great!-_"

"_-I…I feel good a-as well…-_" Caterpie squeaked turning slightly to the side.

"…good!" Cruz laughed loudly taking his hat off to reveal his that his hair was slightly blue in the sunlight, but then tossed the hat into the air. "At the moment that hat touches the ground…we'll begin!"

"Is this a recurring trend or something in Saora?" Miles asked as the hat slowly floated to the ground, as he remembered that Kurai used a coin to start the three way battle.

"Maybe…" Ikki replied shrugging his shoulders…

Everyone held their breaths as the hat lofted to the ground…

"GO!" Everyone shouted as Ikki and Lena threw their pokeballs into the air.

"Zigzagoon, rise up to the challenge!"

"You too, Pichu!"

In a flash of light, the raccoon pokemon reappeared in front of Lena, only this time accompanied with a small yellow mouse pokemon with black ears and a black thunderbolt tail. The two pokemon squeaked loudly getting Maxwell's attention.

"…that's the pokemon you two have? I thought you'd have stronger ones!" Maxwell snapped jabbing his cane into the ground.

"We're new grunts sir," Lena answered shaking her head. "It's not our fault that we don't have strong ones yet."

"Typical…" Maxwell sighed while Mira did the same.

"Absol! Attack with Iron Tail!"

Maxwell turned at the last minute, just in time to see the Absol slam its glowing white tail into the Luxray's chest sending the electric pokemon skidding backwards. Plopping his hat back onto his head, Cruz smirked as Absol landed on the ground. "You let your guard down…"

"Fine then! Mira! Iron Tail right back!" Maxwell commanded as Mira jumped into the air as her long tail began to glow bright silver.

"Let's Iron Tail once more!" Cruz commanded as Absol nodded with his tail glowing in response.

In the next second, the two Iron Tail attacks slammed into each other, creating a loud clashing noise that echoed through the air. At the sight of the attacks clashing, Miles was stunned. "Whoa…those guys are totally at a different level…"

"In case you've forgotten," Lena announced raising her hand up making her Zigzagoon run forward. "We're having a battle! Zigzagoon! Headbutt on that bug!"

"_-W-W-What do I do?-_" Caterpie panicked as the small raccoon pokemon began to get closer and closer.

"Pichu! Attack with quick attack!" Ikki commanded as the small Pichu jumped in the air slightly before racing forward in a yellow blur.

"_-Bring it on!-_" Riolu shouted before turning to Miles. "_-Come on Miles! What're going to do?-_"

"Uh…well, how about…Lee! Quick Attack!" Miles shouted throwing his arm up. "And Caterpie…uh, String Shot?"

With a quick nod, the Riolu immediately ran towards the yellow blur that was Ikki's Pichu. The two speedy pokemon leapt into the air, crashing into each other, only jump away from each other…

…all the while Zigzagoon was running faster and faster towards Caterpie who was freezing up on the field. "_-Uh, I…um, w-well…h-help!-_"

The Zigzagoon slammed its head into Caterpie, sending the worm pokemon flying slightly into the air and to crash into the ground next to Miles's feet. "Caterpie! A-are you okay?"

"Heh…well, isn't this déjà vu?" Lena sighed shaking her head as the Zigzagoon did the same. "You're falling straight into a pit of failure once more…Zigzagoon, put that bug out of its misery with another headbutt!"

As soon as Lee landed on the ground, he turned around to see the Zigzagoon taking a few steps back to deliver another headbutt. "_-Miles! Come on! Do something!-_"

Miles just closed his eyes as the Zigzagoon began to run faster towards Caterpie. Then as soon as he snapped his eyes open, Miles raised his hand up. "Caterpie! You can do this, I know you can! String Shot and aim for that Zigzagoon's legs!"

Just as the Zigzagoon was about to land its attack, Caterpie immediately got up, taking aim and fired a large amount of silk that sprayed directly on the surprised Zigzagoon, making the raccoon pokemon trip over its own four feet. Caterpie blinked a few times as she turned towards Miles. "_-D-D-Did I do that?-_"

Miles knelt down and rubbed Caterpie on the head, a little reluctant. "N-nice job…"

"_-Hello! Guys! A little help!?-_" Lee shouted just getting slammed in the stomach by the Pichu's head, sending him skidding backwards next to Caterpie. "_-Yeah…thanks a lot guys…-_"

"Heh…this is fun!" Ikki announced as Pichu and the slightly sticky Zigzagoon ran back in front of Ikki and Lena respectively. "…and…at this rate, if we keep this up, we might be able to win easily, get out of here, and get that package to the base before nightfall!"

SMACK!

"OW!" Ikki shouted lowering his head with the new bruise on his head as his Pichu turned around to sweatdrop at his master.

"You don't need to broadcast our plans!" Lena shouted as the Zigzagoon nodded in agreement. "That's what go us into this battle fest!"

"…man, those two are just weird…" Miles muttered as Lee and Caterpie nodded in agreement.

"Never underestimate your opponent kid," Cruz stated keeping his eyes on his own intense battle. "No matter how goofy looking."

"Hey!" Lena and Ikki shouted at the same time.

"…you have to admit that you two are weird looking…" Maxwell chuckled shaking his head.

"Is this take-a-shot at the help day?" Lena asked turning to the side.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 11:01 a.m._

_Location: The Unknown Lair of the Venomous Fang Order_

"Come on; get it all out into the lobby!" Turner shouted at the movers (who were dressed in the grunt uniforms of the Fang Order) and their Machoke pokemon who were finishing taking the plants, Japanese furniture and the additional koi fish pond (or the tank that had Qwilfish, Remoraid, Magikarp, etc. that was supposed to be used as the pond.)

It was too crowded to have that Zen Garden in the leader's main office, but with the okay from the leader, Turner was able to move the garden into the entrance lobby. Turner figured it would be nice to have a welcoming mat for the members of the order…

…the garden even did seem to brighten up the aura of the entire building…

"…even though this is supposed to be an evil organization…" Turner moaned as the remainder of the moving men exited the main office. "About time, you fools…did half of you fall in there?"

"Yes…" All of the movers stated at the same time, that's when Turner noticed that half of them were soaking wet…more than likely they had spilt the tank on themselves…

…or the water pokemon in the tank decided to rebel and attack the movers with their water attacks. Needless to say, Turner was slightly red in the face and rubbed the back of his head to mumble. "Uh…sorry…keep up the good work…"

As soon as the movers were down the dark hall, Turner immediately lifted his clipboard to his face. This was partly to read the report to the leader…but mostly to use the clipboard as a shield from the leader's act of throwing things whenever Turner ruined the leader's 'fun'.

So with a loud sigh, Turner walked into the office slowly. "Latios…I bet that Amadeus or Sherris have to deal with crud like this…and yet, I get charged with the task of babysitting an overgrown cry baby…"

Might as well get this over with…

"Sir…first off all, before you get to throwing your stapler at me, at least let me get to the new developments that we've acquired. I've received word that the two grunts you sent have arrived at Gardner City last night. Unfortunately in the short amount of time that they've been there, they haven't been able to acquire any information on what Team Atmos is up to…"

"Secondly, I have a report from Admin Amadeus…his experiments have been successful thus far, but in order for him to continue his experiments, I'll need your signature on this form here to provide more funds…"

As soon as the specific form was slid onto the desk, Turner awaited for the leader to sign the paper…

…too bad he would never get it…

"Sir? Are you trying to give me the silent treatment?" Turner asked slowly pulling down clipboard to look at the leader's usual seat…

…only empty with the leader in no where in sight…

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

This was so typical! Every once in a while, the leader would often disappear into thin air, usually when he screwed something up…or lit something on fire…or probably duct taped someone to the wall and left them on the wall for three days…

"Hmm…maybe he's in the bathroom?" Turner muttered placing the clipboard on the desk, before noticing a dark purple envelope on the desk. "Huh?"

As Turner lifted the envelope up, the Venom Fang admin noticed that on the front of the envelope had the mark of the Venomous Fang Order on it, signifying that the letter was from the leader. So, slowly ripping the envelope open, Turner slipped the paper into his hand and unfolded it…then, taking his sunglasses off, Turner slowly began reading the letter…

_Dear one of my trusty three admins,_

_Hey! How ya doing? In case you couldn't tell, this is the leader speaking…er, writing here! I've been spending too much time in the office lately and decided to leave on a spring vacation break! Boo ya!_

"…since when did we have spring break vacation?" Turner muttered raising an eyebrow at the letter.

_Anyway…I'm taking a guess that maybe you're reading this in the morning after I left…especially if you're Turner. So, I'm leaving a list of things for you to do while I'm gone for the week…the first, pick up my dry cleaning, and make sure they have my black suit with the silver trim on it…I'll be needing it for one of my meetings next week…_

"I guess I should be glad that he's actually taking an interest in his work," Turner sighed shaking his head.

_Secondly, I kinda taped Amadeus to the wall before I left. Why you may ask? Simple! For taking the last egg roll in the main cafeteria last night! I called dibs on it and he stole it from me!_

"…but they make fresh egg rolls every ten minutes," Turner sweatdropped at his leader's actions. "Couldn't he have just waited?"

_Thirdly, um, well, oh, now I remember! Yeah, we're out of duct tape…no, wait, that's not right. Oh, I won't have my cell phone on, so don't bother trying to find me until the end of the week._

"And this is our leader?" Turner moaned slapping his forehead.

_And finally, if you're reading this, after you've finished the letter, look in the right topmost drawer in my desk. Look under the pile of custom manga and the bag of nacho chips, and you should find a vanilla folder with our mark on it. Inside it should be a couple of pictures and a detailed list of what needs to be done…Team Atmos will not interfere this time…_

"Now that's more like it!" Turner whistled actually impressed with the leader's out of character elite actions. "I guess those 'How To Be An Evil Mastermind' promotional tapes actually worked!"

_P.S. I'm taking the jeep!_

"Eh, not that bad," Turner muttered turning back to the letter.

_P.S.S. If you're reading this then you've only got thirty more seconds to drop this letter! Because you see, I was listening to the section on secret letters and was told to make the letter explode a set amount of time after the envelope was opened._

_P.S.S.S. Ha! Ha! Boom!_

"Wait…what?!" Turner questioned before the letter exploded in a large cloud of smoke and flames. "ACK! My eyebrows!"

One final scrap of paper managed to survive, floating down to the ground till it landed on the ground allowing what little light to reveal these final words…

_P.S.S.S.S. If I got anyone other than Turner, my bad! If I got Turner…this is for the koi pond!_

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Okay…uh, let's try this again," Miles chuckled rubbing the back of his head as Lee and Caterpie shook themselves.

"Then you won't mind us starting!" Lena shouted throwing her fist out. "Zigzagoon! Tackle attack! And Pichu! Quick Attack!"

"Hey! Pichu's my pokemon!" Ikki moaned only to get a slap to the face courtesy of Lena. "Ow!'

"Shut up! I'm taking over!" Lena snapped.

Both of the Atmos Grunts' pokemon charged forward, both of them ready to attack, the Pichu running ahead of the Zigzagoon with sparks flying from its cheeks.

"Here's hoping!" Miles shouted throwing his hand up over Caterpie. "Okay Caterpie! You need to use String Shot once more!"

"_-R-Right!-_" Caterpie stuttered before releasing a powerful spray of silk that flew over both Pichu and Zigzagoon.

"Oh please! Ikki take care of that annoyance!" Lena shouted tapping Ikki on the shoulder.

"Then don't tell my pokemon what to do!" Ikki snapped back, throwing his free arm up towards his Pichu. "Thundershock! Zap that webbing!"

Stopping in his tracks, the Pichu spun around sparking wildly before sending a powerful surge of electricity into the air, eradicating the webbing into shreds. With a great smile on his face, Ikki laughed loudly as the remains of the webbing floated to the ground. "HA! No matter what, you'll never be able to…"

"…Lee! Force Palm!"

"Huh?" Ikki questioned as a small blue and black blur appeared in front of the surprised Pichu…

The blur turned out to be Lee, his right paw glowing slightly before he slammed the paw into the electric mouse's abdomen, sending the Pichu skidding backwards towards the Zigzagoon.

"_-Boo ya!-_" Lee announced slowly lowering his paw down.

"I see you learned a new trick," Lena growled as her Zigzagoon jumped to the side to dodge the skidding Pichu, continuing its charge towards the red scarf-wearing Riolu. "But…it won't help you! Zigzagoon Headbutt!"

"No…but you seemed to forget that I've got help this time!" Miles countered throwing his arm up as Caterpie dashed forward. "Caterpie! Tackle now!"

Just before the Zigzagoon could ram its head into Lee, Caterpie immediately slammed into the raccoon pokemon's torso. The force made the Zigzagoon barely miss Lee, nicking Lee's slightly wagging tail. "_-Whoa! Talk about a close shave!-_"

"Pichu! Attack with quick attack!" Ikki commanded, placing the sack that was on his shoulder onto the ground. Shaking off the Force Palm's recoil, the electric mouse lowered to a four legged position before he charged at a fast rate.

Lee turned slightly, just in time to get slammed in the stomach once more by the electric mouse pokemon sending him to the ground. "_-OOF!-_"

"Ri…Lee! Force Palm while that Pichu is next to ya!" Miles shouted throwing his hand out.

"_-…payback time!-_" Lee shouted immediately slamming his paw once more into the Pichu's face sending it skidding backwards once more…

…and when the Pichu tripped backwards, it was revealed that the electric pokemon was completely dazed, signified by the dizzy marks that were in the electric mouse pokemon's eyes. Ikki just slumped down with his jaw wide open. "Ah…ah…N-no…my poor little Pichu!"

"…you are so pathetic…" Lena growled slapping her forehead while the Pichu was returned to the pokeball that Ikki held in his hand. "Zigzagoon! It's up to us now! Use Headbutt! And don't you dare miss!"

"Zig…Zag!" The Zigzagoon barked before running towards Lee and Caterpie.

"_-Come on…its two on one!-_" Riolu sighed shaking his head turning towards Caterpie. "_-You ready?-_"

Caterpie turned her head slightly to the right, but then slowly nodded. With his fellow pokemon ready, Lee turned back to Miles with a wide smirk on his face. "_-Then…let's finish this Miles!-_"

"Right! Lee! Force Palm! Caterpie, Tackle!" Miles complied throwing his fist up towards his two pokemon.

Both with a nod, Lee and Caterpie ran forward, Lee's paw prepared to slam directly into the Zigzagoon. "Change to Tail Whip!"

Ducking down to dodge Lee's paw, the Zigzagoon spun on her own paws, slamming her tail directly into Caterpie. The force sent Caterpie into Lee's tiny legs, making both pokemon trip over each other on the ground.

The Zigzagoon snickered to herself as her owner began to chuckle. "Heh, looks like you fell for the same trick like last time kiddo."

"Come on Lena!" Ikki shouted pumping his arms in the air. "You've got great battle skills! Although, you've got a temper…a couple split ends in your hair, and…"

SLAM!

"MY EYE!"

"Shut up!" Lena shouted with her eyes narrowed down at the battle. "Zigzagoon! End this with Headbutt!"

"Zagoon!" the raccoon pokemon barked loudly before running towards Lee and Caterpie.

"_-A-Ah!-_" Caterpie yelped…accidentally spraying a large amount of webbing into the Zigzagoon's face.

"GOON!" Zigzagoon cried with the webbing covering its eyes, trying to scratch the webbing off.

"_-Time's up!-_" Lee shouted, running up to the blinded Zigzagoon his paw glowing slightly and revved up to slam into the raccoon pokemon.

POW!

With the Force Palm sending the yelping Zigzagoon flying into the air right into Lena's surprised face. "AH…ACK!"

Looking over at the dazed out Lena, Ikki turned back to the slightly surprised Miles. "Huh…this won't end well for us…unless…"

"_-Boo ya! We did it!-_" Lee announced pumping his paws in the air as he ran over to Miles, his tail wagging wildly. "_-Ha! Did you see me Miles? I totally did it!-_"

Miles raised an eyebrow as Caterpie slowly inched next to them. "…You do remember I'm the trainer right? I mean, I did tell ya what attacks to use…"

"_-Yeah…but I've got the skills to make your bad plans actually work!-_" Lee laughed loudly patting the top of Caterpie's head. "_-Ya agree with me, right Caterpie?-_"

"_-Uh…well…-_" Caterpie stuttered…

BOOM!

"Huh?" Miles and Ikki questioned at the same time as a large cloud of dust and smoke erupted next to their own battle field, making them all take a few steps as two smoked covered figures leapt from the cloud.

As soon the cloud had died down, both the Absol and Luxray landed in front of their respective trainers, both of them glaring at each other. Mira, Maxwell's Luxray, began panting, as the many bruises on its body began to show up on her fur…

…Cruz's Absol on the other hand…he was just scoffing to the side, shaking his head in disappointment. "_-…And here I thought that this would be fun…-_"

Grasping his cane tightly, Maxwell's eyebrows narrowed at the sight of the smirking Cruz. "Th-this can't be…w-who are you Mr. Coat?"

Snapping his fingers in response, Cruz called Absol to his side. When the disaster pokemon was standing next to him, Cruz knelt down to scratch the white furred pokemon's head. "…Heh…did you not hear my dramatic introduction? I am…Cruz Wolfgang…"

"W-What?!" Maxwell gulped nearly dropping his cane. '_T-This isn't possible! I-I thought…'_

"Well, it looks like we've got one battle down…" Cruz chuckled removing his hand from Absol's head.

"What?" Maxwell questioned turning to the side to see Lena and Ikki calling back their own pokemon, and at the sight of that…Maxwell opened his eyes widely and immediately narrowed them down at the two grunts, showing his cold dark gray eyes. "…you idiots…you…you lost to a kid?!"

"S-Sir!" Lena and Ikki shouted saluting to Maxwell.

"Sorry, but we're ending this battle as well!" Cruz shouted throwing his hand out. "Absol! Shadow Ball!" 

"Nonsense!" Maxwell roared throwing his hand up towards his Luxray. "Mira! We're not going to let them one up us! Use Zap Cannon!"

Both four legged pokemon began to charge up their individual attacks. A powerful surge of electricity forming through Mira's fur and a large orb of darkness began forming at Absol's mouth.

"Ready…FIRE!" Maxwell and Cruz roared at the same time just before their pokemons' attacks were fired at the same time.

The powerful electricity surged forward into the powerful orb of darkness, both attacks clashing as Mira continued to put forth more and more electricity while Maxwell lifted his arm up. "Mira! Keep it up! Don't stop with your attack!"

"…it seems you haven't noticed," Cruz muttered shaking his head.

"Noticed what?" Maxwell questioned as a small shadow appeared over him and Mira. As Maxwell craned his head up, his eyes widened when the shadow became visible from the light of the sun.

"Absol! Iron Tail!"

Spinning in the air, the Absol slammed its powerful glowing tail directly into the Luxray's back, forcing the electric pokemon to the ground, unable to get back up thanks to the force of the attack.

Since Luxray's Zap Cannon required a continuous surge of electricity, when it clashed with Absol's Shadow Ball attack which was a concentrated single blast, it allowed Absol to move unlike Mira.

And with his eyes nearly closed once more, Maxwell just lifted Mira's pokeball and recalled the Luxray back into the small ball. "…Kyrogue damn it…"

"It would appear that justice has been served," Cruz replied adjusting his hat, sending a wink to Miles before he slowly walked over to the three Atmos Members. "And now to deliver the true justice…"

Maxwell just lowered his head as he lifted his cane from the ground, the Steelix remained behind the three Team Atmos members, watching as its owner was walking closer and closer to the three, Cruz's right hand on the rim of his hat. Ikki and Lena slowly stepped behind Maxwell (leaving the sack on the ground a few feet away). "Sir! D-Do something!"

No one saw the smile that appeared on Maxwell's face as he stood up straight with his head lowered…

…there was one way out of this, and it was in his hands…

So lifting his cane up to Cruz's face at the last second, Maxwell cackled loudly. "Heh! I'll deliver my own justice!"

"…does everyone in Saora have bad catch lines too?" Miles questioned with a sweatdrop appearing on the side of his head.

"Nag about it later!" Maxwell shouted clicking a button on his cane…

Cruz's eyes widened before a large cloud of dark blue pollen erupted from the top of Maxwell's cane.

"HA! I always win in the end!" Maxwell laughed loudly throwing his head back to laugh even louder into the air.

"Cruz!" Miles shouted about to run forward…

…until Cruz's Absol ran in front of Miles, stopping the forced trainer in his tracks, while the disaster pokemon shook his head. "_-…relax…Cruz's a lot smarter than he looks, I should know…-_"

"Huh? How am I understanding you?" Miles asked tilting his head.

Absol just shrugged in return before turning back to the scene. "_-…frankly, I don't care…anyway…take a closer look at my trainer…-_"

Miles, Lee and Caterpie did so, and noticed a real key difference that allowed Cruz to keep standing up to Maxwell's sleep powder. "…how is that even possible?"

"HA! HA! HA!" Maxwell continued to laugh loud…not noticing that Cruz was still standing strong.

"Uh…sir," Lena stuttered, tapping Maxwell's shoulder.

That tap fell on the laughter filled ears of Maxwell. "HA! HA! HA!"

"Admin Maxwell!" Ikki pleaded pulling his long hair.

"…don't interrupt my evil laughter," Maxwell growled turning his head towards the two grunts for a second before turning back to see Cruz. "Now then…"

POW!

"URK!" Maxwell shouted after a powerful black-leather gloved fist slammed into his face, the force sending the Atmos Admin flying backwards directly into the Steelix.

With his left fist still revved up for his punch and his right hand holding onto his hat with a small amount of powder lofting out of the hat, Cruz lifted his head up to show a wide grin plastered all over his rugged face and his glasses reflecting the sunlight. "Heh…at the last second I lifted my hat over the exhaust of the sleep powder…"

"But…how'd the hat stop it?" Ikki questioned slinging a now knocked out Maxwell over his shoulder grabbing his cane.

"I'd explain," Cruz replied throwing his hat to the ground, and then began to crack his right fist in his left hand as he walked before the two conscious Atmos Grunts. "But…why would I tell that to a few people who are going to be out cold in a few seconds?"

"Uh…" Ikki and Lena muttered as the Steelix slowly slithered away from the forest's entrance. "RUN!"

Leaving a few dust trails, the two Atmos grunts ran off into Tempest Forest, Ikki carrying Maxwell, while Lena held onto the cane. As soon as the three disappeared into the thick grove, Cruz threw his torso back slightly and laughed in cheerful manner. "Ha! It always works!"

"…please tell me that other people are normal in this region," Miles sighed falling to the ground to sit with his legs crossed.

"_-Ah, it just makes this more interesting!-_" Lee laughed jumping to Miles's right shoulder, his tail wagging rapidly. "_-And besides, don't you think we owe this guy for helping us earlier?-_"

"…yeah…" Miles sighed lowering his head.

"_-…do not worry,-_" Absol stated trotting up next to Miles, to watch Cruz return his Steelix to the pokeball. "_-From what I've seen, there are sane people in this country…they're just really, really, REALLY hard to find…-_"

"Absol," Cruz snickered pocketing his hat into his overcoat's pocket before heading towards the sack. "Are you insinuating that I'm insane?"

"_-If the hat fits, sir…_"Absol scoffed to the side sitting next to Miles.

"Ha, ha, ha, I didn't know I had such a comedian on my team," Cruz laughed with sarcasm dripping from his tongue as he lifted up the sack in his arms.

"…hey Cruz, you want to trade my Riolu for Absol?" Miles asked getting a glare from Lee. "I'd be more than willing to have a sensible partner…" 

"-_Hey! I'm sitting on your shoulder!-_" Lee barked poking Miles in the side of his head. "_-Don't talk like I'm not here! And don't you dare even think about trading me!-_"

"Hey! Maybe if you didn't cause so much trouble then maybe I wouldn't want to trade ya!" Miles shouted back grabbing Lee's paw.

"_-M-Miles! L-Lee! S-Stop fighting! We're supposed to b-be a team!-_" Caterpie pleaded to the two not noticing that she was glowing slightly.

"Ah, brings back a few memories right Absol?" Cruz chuckled walking up to the trainer and pokemon.

"_-It's basically just a reversal of roles…-_" Absol sighed trotting past Miles, Lee, and (the now glowing) Caterpie. "_-So…now what?-_"

"Well…" Cruz replied rubbing the back of his head as the light pulsating from Caterpie's body finally caught his eye. "…we'll head back to Burgundy Town's Center after the magic is done."

The word magic got Miles and Lee to stop fighting with each other…blinking at Cruz's choice of words.

"Huh?" 

"_-Huh?-_"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 11: 47 a.m._

_Location: Burgundy Town_

_PKM Center,_

_Trainer Room No. 7_

"…its nostalgic being back in one of these rooms…" Cruz chuckled placing the sack gently on one of the beds.

"It's a given that you're a trainer, now," Miles stated falling back on the bottom bunk to watch Lee and Absol walk in front of him to the corner of the room. "But, you mind shedding a little light on what's going on?"

"You're a sharp kid, Sabers," Cruz chuckled falling to the ground with a sigh of relief. Taking out his hat, the overcoat trainer tapped out the small remainder of the sleep power that managed to help him at the end. '_…you remind me of your brother…'_

"…but you'll have to be specific on what you want to know…and remember, just as you're free to ask questions, I'm free not to answer them if I don't want to…"

"Fine…let's start off with something easy," Miles stated rubbing his chin. "Who were those guys? The ones we fought against?"

"…nice choice…" Cruz chuckled placing his hat back on his head. "Well, I'm not too sure…but, judging on the outfits, I'd say that they're probably with Team Atmos."

'_Team…Atmos?_' Miles raised an eyebrow at the mention of the name.

"_But I have to ask," Nurse Joy stated lifting her hand up to mouth. "…you said that you were attacked by Pidgey right?"_

"_Y-yes," Miles coughed slightly, those birds may not have hurt him, but the sting on his pride would haunt him for a while._

"_Heh…" Ashe giggled, and why wouldn't she? She's the one who saved Miles. "Nurse Joy, I hope you're not planning on placing the blame on Team Atmos now…"_

'_Team Atmos?' Miles thought while sipping his orange juice._

"_Hmm…oh, I didn't see you there Ashe," Nurse Joy admitted with a small drop of sweat falling off the side of her head. "I figured that you'd be at…"_

"_It's my day off," Ashe replied placing her arms behind her head. "I can't be expected to work each of the three hundred and fifty six days of the year. Sides, Team Atmos hasn't been seen near Temp Town for several months, and I'd know if those troublemakers would be here…"  
_

"_Well…okay," Nurse Joy stated walking away from the table._

"_So…what's Team Atmos?" Miles asked placing his glass on the table._

"_Oh, well, it's just a hotshot team, you don't need to worry about them though," Ashe answered turning her head back to Miles. "But…you said that you were forced to be a trainer, right? You mind telling me more about that?"_

"…I've heard of them," Miles replied slightly biting his thumb's nail. "Not much though…only that they're a hotshot team…"

"It's not that uncommon for people who live in Saora to know that fact," Cruz muttered rubbing his chin. "But, they're one of two major 'teams' of Saora…"

"What's the other one?" Miles asked raising his hand up.

"…well, the other one…" Cruz mumbled with his gloved hand lifted up to mouth. "…is known as the Venomous Fang Order…"

"Sounds like a cult…" Miles stated bluntly.

"I didn't come up with the name," Cruz replied wagging his finger. "Anyway, I don't know what Team Atmos is planning, but if you see someone dressed in a manner like them, then its better that you keep away from them."

"…I see…uh, my next question," Miles stuttered adjusting his headband. "Is what's up with the sack? I assume its something important to both Team Atmos and you…"

"What makes you think that it's important to me?" Cruz asked turning to the sack, pushing up his glasses slightly.

"You seemed adamant on the subject with Team Atmos," Miles retorted crossing his arms.

"Did I?" Cruz questioned turning towards Lee and Absol having an argument. "…Well, why don't you open the sack, and see for yourself?"

"…I've got a feeling that if I do, I'm going to regret it," Miles sighed shaking his head. "And I've already regret Lee…"

"_-Hey!-_" Lee barked turning away from his argument with Absol.

"I still stand by my statement," Miles sighed turning back to Cruz.

"…then I guess you'll have that question plaguing your mind for a long time," Cruz chuckled turning towards Lee and Absol, a devious smirk appearing on his face. "…wouldn't you agree Lee?"

"You wouldn't dare," Miles stated glaring daggers at the mischievous Riolu.

"_-Yeah! The overcoat man is right!-_" Lee announced with flames in his eyes before he leapt towards the sack.

"Lee! Wait!" Miles shouted throwing his hand up. "If you have any shred of respect for me as your trainer, you will not open that sack!"

"_-…-_" Lee stood next to the top of the sack, turning to the sack and then Miles a few times. "_-…I'm just a mischievous little pup!-_"

"NO!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Lee:** -_So…you've got a crazy trainer eh?-_

**Absol:** _-That seems to be a common occurrence in Saora…-_

**Lee:** -_I wonder if we'll see that trend will continue next time.-_

**Absol:** _-With a new companion with you…you can bet you'll have an interesting time…-_

_**Will Miles ever meet a normal person in Saora? My money's on no…but find out next time in – **__**Chapter 10: The Intro Tactics**_

**Absol:** _-…it would appear that author is also crazy…-_


	10. Chapter 10: The Intro Tactics

Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

_**The Intro Tactics**_

_**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

"…_I see…uh, my next question," Miles stuttered adjusting his headband. "Is what's up with the sack? I assume its something important to both Team Atmos and you…"_

"_What makes you think that it's important to me?" Cruz asked turning to the sack, pushing up his glasses slightly. _

"_You seemed adamant on the subject with Team Atmos," Miles retorted crossing his arms. _

"_Did I?" Cruz questioned turning towards Lee and Absol having an argument. "…Well, why don't you open the sack, and see for yourself?"_

"…_I've got a feeling that if I do, I'm going to regret it," Miles sighed shaking his head. "And I've already regret Lee…"_

"_-Hey!-" Lee barked turning away from his argument with Absol. _

"_I still stand by my statement," Miles sighed turning back to Cruz._

"…_then I guess you'll have that question plaguing your mind for a long time," Cruz chuckled turning towards Lee and Absol, a devious smirk appearing on his face. "…wouldn't you agree Lee?"_

"_You wouldn't dare," Miles stated glaring daggers at the mischievous Riolu._

"_-Yeah! The overcoat man is right!-" Lee announced with flames in his eyes before he leapt towards the sack._

"_Lee! Wait!" Miles shouted throwing his hand up. "If you have any shred of respect for me as your trainer, you will not open that sack!"_

"_-…-" Lee stood next to the top of the sack, turning to the sack and then Miles a few times. "-…I'm just a mischievous little pup!-"_

"_NO!"_

"Return Lee!"

"_-What?!-_" Lee shouted before the small red laser pulled the Riolu back into the pokeball that Miles held in his hand.

"Man…I would like to shake the hand of the guy who made these things," Miles sighed miniaturizing the ball.

"That was quick thinking, kid," Cruz stated crossing his arms as Absol sighed loudly.

"_-…sometimes I wish I could do that to Cruz…-_" Absol moaned before curling up next to the bed.

"Hey!" Cruz shouted narrowing his eyes at Absol.

"_-I still stand by my statement…-_" Absol yawned turning away from Cruz.

"…anyway, I think this pokeball is defective," Miles sighed snapping the ball on the back of his belt. "Riolu…er, I mean, Lee, keeps getting out."

"Eh, don't know how to help ya," Cruz replied adjusting his hat. "So, now what are you planning on doing?"

That was something Miles had to take a few seconds to consider. Taking the situation that just occurred, along with the fact that Val and Kurai could walk into the room at any second to see Cruz sitting in the room, Miles shook his head before answering. "Well, someone suggested that I should try the gym league challenge…"

"Suggested? You mean that you didn't want to do it in the first place?" Cruz asked raising an eyebrow at Miles.

"Heck no!" Miles answered immediately, snapping his arms into an 'X' shape over his chest. "I was even forced to be a trainer…although…looking back; I think was actually tricked…"

"…huh…that's new…" Cruz muttered. "I've heard of a few trainers being forced to continue a tradition for a family line of trainers…but being tricked…"

"...don't rub it in," Miles sighed rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, don't worry, kid," Cruz laughed standing up, patting his chest with his right hand. "You've got Cruz Wolfgang here to help you out!"

"_-…I'd run if I were you kid,-_" Absol chuckled shaking his head.

"Quiet you," Cruz snapped towards Absol who just turned his head to sleep again. "As an experienced trainer, it's only natural that I give rookie trainers some pointers!"

"…I think I'm going to listen to Absol on this," Miles stated slowly inching towards the door.

"Nonsense!" Cruz shouted throwing his arm around Miles's neck. "I'll help you young man!"

"Oh, Groudon no!" Miles shouted until a flash of light erupted from his belt, forming into Lee (who was currently adjusting his scarf). "Great, more trouble…"

"Absol, keep an eye on things will ya?" Cruz replied opening the door, all the while keeping his death hold on Miles's neck.

"_-As you wish sir…-_" Absol yawned back, cracking his neck slightly.

"Lee…please try to not to open the sack…" Miles chocked before the door was closed behind him.

A few seconds passed as Lee watched the door. "_-Okay! Now they're gone!-_" Lee announced jumping next to the sack. "_-Let's have a look in that sack!-_"

SMACK!

Before Lee could even get his paws onto the rope that kept the sack closed, Absol had jumped from his relaxed state and slammed his thin (yet powerful tail) into Lee's stomach, sending the small fighting pokemon to the ground.

And jumping onto his hind paws, Lee glared daggers at the disaster pokemon. "_-Hey! What in the world is up with you?!-_"

Shaking his head at the young pokemon, Absol slowly lowered his body till he was lying in front of the sack. "_-Your trainer asked only that you didn't open the sack…you should respect that one request.-_"

"_-Humph!-_" Lee scoffed to the side crossing his arms. "_-Why are you so die hard about that? Its not like Miles is your trainer, and Mr. Coat didn't tell you to guard the bag.-_"

"_-…true, but, still, you have to follow your trainer's requests, even if they seem absurd,-_" Absol answered bluntly closing his eyes. "_-And unfortunately, your trainer's request wasn't absurd at all. I'm just making sure that you honor that promise-_"

"_-Huh?-_" The confused Riolu stated, many question marks appearing over his head. "_-That still doesn't mean that you…-_"

"_-…how old are you?-_" Absol interrupted quite bluntly.

"_-What?-_" Lee asked.

"-_Answer the question,-_" Absol stated, narrowing his red eyes at the small Riolu. "_-How old are you?-_"

Scratching the side of his head, Lee stuttered at his answer. "_-Uh…well, three…four days, I think?-_"

"_-Hmm…I see…-_" Absol chuckled shaking his head. "_-It's rather interesting that a pokemon that young can acquire so much information…and yet you seemed to have gotten quite vulgar so soon…-_"

Puffing his chest out, Lee pointed his paw towards Absol. "_-Oh yeah! You wanna say that again?-_"

"_-Why waste my breath?-_" Absol chuckled shaking his head. "_-You're too stubborn, and more than likely you'll become a crutch to your trainer at one time or another…-_"

"_-That does it!-_" Lee shouted jumping into the air, lifting his glowing paw up ready to slam it into Absol's face. _"-You need to shut up!-"_

As Lee threw his palm towards Absol, the disaster pokemon kept his eye at the fighting pokemon…

…only to have Absol's glowing Iron Tail block the Force Palm attack. "_-W-What the?!-_"

"_-…you're a few years short of beating me kid,-_" Absol sighed snapping his tail forward to send Lee flying backwards into the wall with a loud slam. "_-…I think I may have over done it…-_"

"_-…ow…-_" Lee moaned slowly peeling himself off of the wall.

"_-My bad,-_" Absol chuckled with a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head. "_-Ahem… anyway, I hope you learned your lesson…-_"

"_-…what lesson would that be again?-_" Lee groaned rubbing his sore little black nose.

"_-Respect your trainer's wishes,-_" Absol answered not noticing that the sack began to move slightly.

"_-And that got me Iron Tailed all the way across the room?-_" Lee asked crawling on the bed next to Absol.

"_-The harshest lessons must be slammed into us sometimes…-_" Absol stated lowering his head.

"_-…um, Absol…-"_ The Riolu stated not looking at Absol, but rather the sack.

"_-Yeah rookie?-_" Absol asked.

"_-…should a sack move around?-_" Lee questioned getting Absol to turn around to see the sack struggling unusually.

"_-Uh…not to my knowledge…-_" Absol stated nudging the sack with his tail.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 11:47 a.m._

_Location: Burgundy Town,_

_Restaurant District_

"…and I'll have the club sandwich, hold the mayo, with extra tomato," Cruz stated handing the waitress the menu.

"You got it sir!" The waitress replied before walking away.

"…ya know, you could've told me that we were going to lunch," Miles growled, narrowing his eyes at Cruz.

"It was hard to tell you when you wouldn't listen," Cruz replied rubbing his chin slightly. "…but now then, I think its time we got serious here."

"I'm afraid to ask about what…" Miles sighed slapping his forehead. "…And I think I already know what you're going to talk about…"

"Alright, then why don't you tell me what I'm going to talk about then," Cruz suggested lifting his coffee up to his lips.

"You're planning on telling me to take the league challenge," Miles stated, almost making Cruz spit out his coffee. "And you'd probably go into an explanation about how I'd do it…"

"…well, for someone tricked into being a trainer, you've got a fair amount of information," Cruz coughed a few times before placing his coffee onto the table. "But, you're only half right."

"…great, just what I need," Miles groaned nursing his orange soda. "Another stipulation…"

"Now, from what I saw from your battle about an hour ago," Cruz stated crossing his arms over his chest. "…you're not all that great."

"…thanks for the vote of confidence," Miles muttered with a dark aura appearing over his head.

"…let me finish kid," Cruz coughed with a large droplet of sweat rolling down the side of his head. "You may not be great…but I was at the same level you were once…I may not know how you got forced or tricked to be a trainer, but a famous poker player once said that it's not the cards your dealt…"

"…it's how you use them."

"Yeah, I heard that line a few times from my brother," Miles admitted before finishing his orange soda with one final gulp. "But…still, how does that apply to me?"

Slamming his hands onto the table, Cruz made Miles (and pretty much anyone sitting near them) jump up slightly. "Sorry, but I know you got a raw deal on this trip of yours…heck, I'm probably betting that you don't care at all if you succeed on this little venture of yours."

"But, like I said, you've got to deal with it. I'm in no position to tell you what to do with your journey, but if you get onto the gym league challenge, then you can make a name for yourself. Who knows, you might even be the one who beats the champion."

"May I ask why you even care about what I do?" Miles asked, regretting that he finished his orange soda so soon.

"…do I need a reason to help someone?" Cruz retorted placing his elbows on the table.

"…yeah, that really clears things up," Miles muttered rolling his eyes. "Maybe I should just quit while I'm ahead…"

"Regardless, kid," Cruz said taking his glasses off to wipe them on his overcoat's sleeve. "You're a trainer…you've got two pokemon, and I'm willing to bet by now that you've got a couple of friends who are also trainers…"

Miles's mind flashed, thinking of Valerie and Kurai…that's when another thought crossed his mind. '_Hey…what would happen if Kurai and Val returned to the room while Lee, Absol and that sack are in there?'_

"…what would they think if you just quit?" Cruz continued breaking Miles's train of thought.

Although he didn't know them that well, Miles did like to think Val and Kurai as friends. They were the first people he met around his age when he got to Serene Town, granted he did get a head injury in the process, but that was beside the point.

Then there was the two pokemon Miles had, sure one was a pain in the neck, and the other was shy, but…but maybe, there could be a chance that they could get along…

"…I don't know…" Miles muttered lowering his head to the side.

"Well then, now you've got to ask yourself…" Cruz stated pushing his glasses to cover his face with his hand. "…when is the food getting here?"

"Wait, what?!" Miles yelped with a bead of sweat appearing on the side of his head.

"…Yeah, I'm getting hungry," Cruz admitted rubbing his stomach. "I mean we ordered a while ago and we're still waiting."

"I thought you were going to say something inspiring!" Miles snapped slamming his fist onto the table.

"What? Oh no," Cruz chuckled waving his hands up. "I'm just hungry, haven't you been listening at all?"

"What?! I thought that you were talking about what my friends and pokemon would think if I were to quit?" Miles questioned raising an eyebrow.

"…which conversation were you listening to?" Cruz chuckled blinking a few times. "I was talking about if I should've ordered the pizza instead of the club sandwich."

"Latios, what have I done to deserve this?" Miles moaned slamming his head directly into the table with a loud bang.

"Heh, you starting to regret your order now too, kid?" Cruz asked crossing his arms.

"…no, I'm regretting getting out of bed this morning," Miles sighed.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 12:01 p.m._

_Location: Tempest Forest,_

_Temp Town Entrance_

"Oh man, oh man, oh man!" Ikki shouted plopping the still knocked out Maxwell to the ground. "We're dead! Not only did we fail to get that package away, but Admin Maxwell got defeated and knocked out! We're so dead!"

"Shut up! You don't need to say that common knowledge!" Lena roared throwing Maxwell's cane into the ground. "I was there!"

"I'm just making sure we're all on the same page," Ikki replied falling down to the ground with a sigh.

"The same page?" Lena questioned with a large blood vessel appearing on her neck. "There's only one page, and you know what's on it? We suck!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to keep everyone updated," Ikki countered crossing his arms.

"Everyone? There were only five people at the scene!" Lena growled with her eyebrow twitching. "Two of them are the guys who beat us, we were there, and Admin Maxwell is unconscious cause of it!"

"Yeah, now everyone's up to speed," Ikki chuckled rubbing the side of his head. "But…now what do we do?"

"What do you think?" Lena spat out narrowing her eyes at Ikki. "We're going to go back the moment Admin Maxwell wakes up! And we're going to take down that coat wearing freak and that little punk!"

"…enough you two fools!"

Both Lena and Ikki were frozen thanks to the cold voice, but slowly, the two turned their head to see Maxwell sitting up rubbing his bruised face. "…we were defeated soundly and we were forced to keep out half of the bargain…"

"But sir! We're not supposed to hold our end of the deal!" Lena growled crossing her arms. "We're Team Atmos and…"

"That doesn't matter!" Maxwell shouted jumping to his feet, scarring the two Atmos Grunts. "Unlike the shameful Venomous Fang Order, we've got honor to uphold…"

"Sir! Are you actually saying that we're giving up?" Ikki gasped taking a step back.

"…of course not you twit," Maxwell growled snatching up his cane from the ground. "For the moment we'll retreat…but remember what Mr. Coat told us…his promise did not dictate that we would give up our mission, we'll just hide in the shadows for a while…"

"Yeah! Now that's what we're talking about!" Lena and Ikki shouted into the air at the same time.

"…or rather, you two will…" Maxwell finished crossing his arm over his stomach, all the while rubbing his bruised face.

"WHAT?!" Ikki and Lena yelped at the same time, both with widened eyes.

"…I've got a vacation to get back to," Maxwell sighed combing his hair back with his hand.

"But sir!" Ikki shouted before the cane was pointed towards him. "Urk!"

"This decision is final," Maxwell muttered, still feeling some of the pain of the powerful punch that Cruz had delivered a couple hours ago. "…now if you excuse me, I need to find me a cold compress."

"…But sir!" Ikki yelped, only to get slammed in the head by the end of Maxwell's cane. "OOF!"

"…shut up," Maxwell growled turning his head around to glare at the two with his dark gray eyes, open for the second time this day. "…lets remember that you two were the first to fail, you lost the package in the first place! You're lucky I don't destroy the two of you right now!"

"Uh…y-yes sir…" Lena muttered saluting meekly as Maxwell began to walk away.

"Should you two need help, feel free to call the main base," Maxwell continued to walk past the two. "I'll see if I can get an agent to get out here to help you…"

Staggering away, Maxwell waved his hand back to the two surprised grunts. "…later…"

Lena groaned slapping her head. "…great, we're alone again…"

"Great," Ikki growled sitting up, rubbing the newest bruise that had appeared on his head. "I'm stuck with a homicidal girl who just keeps on giving me brain damage… I can't do math anymore…"

POW!

"OW! Now I forgot pop culture references!"

"Great more of this," Lena growled shaking her head, this was going to be one big headache until this job got done.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 12: 13 p.m._

_Location: Burgundy Town,_

_PKM Center,_

_Outside Trainer RM 7_

"Ah! Now that's what I call a lunch!" Cruz sighed adjusting his glasses slightly as he followed Miles through the halls towards the trainer room where Lee and Absol were hopefully waiting for them.

"…yeah, but normally when you invite someone to lunch," Miles growled slapping his forehead. "You pay for their meal!"

"You've got good money," Cruz countered wagging his finger at Miles. "Sides, this is the real world kiddo."

'_Did I just get demoted from kid to kiddo?_' Miles thought raising an eyebrow as he slowly wrapped his hand around the door's handle. Slowly, Miles began to turn the handle until…

BAM!

"URGH!" Miles yelped as Lee was thrown directly into his face, sending the forced trainer into the wall across from the door.

"_-…my head…-_" Lee moaned as he and Miles fell to the ground.

"Hmm…what's going on here?" Cruz asked not stepping in front of the doorway to turn towards Miles.

"_-About time you got back sir,-_" Absol stated trotting out of the room shaking his tail slightly at seeing Lee knocked out. "_-…dang, not a bad throw…-_"

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

"…Absol, what happened?" Cruz asked crouching down to be eye level with the disaster pokemon.

"_-I assume that you remember that your young friend told that pup to not open the sack?-_" Absol asked back as Cruz nodded back. "_-Well…you see…the sack was moving, so that little runt opened it and well…-_"

"Where the hell am I?"

With a dazed Riolu next to him, Miles slowly stood up, shaking his pounding head. When he looked back into the room, his eyes widened slightly. "Hey! You're that con girl from this morning!"

Indeed it was the same girl a couple of hours ago from the card stand, albeit she had a nasty scowl aimed at Miles and Lee. "And you're that jerk that took my money!"

"But I won that fairly!" Miles retorted before Lee leapt to Miles's shoulder.

"_-I was the one who won!-_" Lee growled, throwing his paw into the air at the girl. "_-And you thank someone for helping ya by throwing them!?-_"

"Oh my, there was a person in that sack?" Cruz gasped walking next to Miles, his gloved hands clapped on his face to express his surprise. "I am shocked!"

Lowering his head, Absol sighed loudly while a large droplet of sweat rolled down the side of his head. "_-…way to be subtle sir…-_"

"What the? Someone even freakier than the people who put me in that sack!" The Con Girl shouted pointing towards Cruz.

"Well, I agree with you on that," Miles stated while Lee nodded in agreement.

With a slight laugh, Cruz struck a pose with his right arm behind his head with his left hand at his waist. "You're both just jealous cause I've got style."

"_-Sir, your style been out of style for three years,-_" Absol pointed out making Cruz lower his head, allowing his arms to dangle slightly.

"…no one asked you Absol," Cruz moaned with a dark cloud appearing over his head.

A few minutes later, inside the trainer room Cruz was standing in between the two bunk beds, Absol standing behind him. Miles and Lee were sitting on the bunk bed across from the con girl…

…the tension in the room could literally choke you…

"…Let's start off simple!" Cruz announced lifting his hand up into the air to get Miles, Lee, Absol and the con girl to look at him. "Introductions! First, according to the tag on my coat, I'm Cruz!"

"Wait…couldn't that be the brand name of the coat?" Miles asked blinking a few times that Cruz could be named after an overcoat.

"…and this is Absol," Cruz continued, Miles's question flying over his head as he knelt down to rub the back of Absol's head. "He may seem like a cool customer and that he's too good to be with me…but deep down, that's just an act."

"_-I can talk too ya know…-_" Absol sighed out with a large sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head.

"And this little squirt," Cruz stated gesturing towards Miles (who was muttering something about getting called a squirt). "Is…uh, what was your name again squirt?"

"Geez, now I know you don't know my name," Miles sighed slapping his forehead. "It Miles Sabers…"

"_-And I'm Lee! The lean, mean, blue fighting machine!-_" The perky Riolu barked loud with his tail wagging wildly.

"…humph…" The con girl scoffed to the side with her arms crossed. "…fine…then I guess my name's Kris Durain…"

Adjusting his hat to cover his eyes, Cruz coughed slightly with his hand in front of his mouth. "I-I see…well then, from what I gathered from the kid over here…"

"Hey! I just told you my name!" Miles protested.

"…you were working a con as it were," Cruz continued, unfazed by Miles last statement. "Why?"

"Humph, I was just trying to get some money to head to Domon City," Kris replied laying back onto the bed with her hands behind her head.

"Domon City?" Miles asked turning towards Cruz with a raised eyebrow.

"A very large and populated city on the opposite side of the region," Cruz explained crossing his arms with his head lowered slightly. "Known for its supreme contest hall and technology corporations…but why were you taken by those weird guys from Team Atmos?"

"How should I know that?" Kris retorted kicking her feet. "All I know is that I was at the annual technology fair and the next thing I know, I'm stuck in a box here."

"I can probably piece together what happened next," Cruz interrupted rubbing his chin. More than likely, Kris probably had wandered around Burgundy Town for a while and decided to raise money with her scam to get to Domon City.

"Wait, why didn't you go to the police?" Miles asked.

"And tell them what? That I just suddenly woke up in Burgundy Town?" Kris stated turning her head slightly to hide the blush. "That and the fact I've kinda got a small rep with the police, so yeah…"

"…great, now we've got a criminal in the room…" Miles sighed loudly before looking down at Lee. "Oh, I take that back…we've got two in the room!"

"_-Are you still harping on that?-_" Lee asked scoffing towards the side. "_-It was a long time ago…-_"

"It was two days ago!" Miles shouted back at Lee.

"Ahem!" Cruz coughed loudly once more, stopping Miles and Lee from starting the fight. "Anyway…we've got to do something about these problems that we've got…and I've got the perfect solution for this!"

"And what would that have to be?" Kris asked sitting back up, crossing her arms.

"Well," Cruz chuckled rubbing his chin with a devious smirk on his face. "First, we've got squirt's problem here, he doesn't know what to do. Secondly, we've got to get Miss Durain back to Domon City…"

"Hey, how do you remember her name and not mine?" Miles asked.

Allowing his hat to shadow over his eyes, Cruz began to chuckle slightly. "…and since I've got to go back to work tomorrow…"

"Should I just stop talking to him?" Miles sighed slapping his forehead.

"_-It'll spare you a headache…-_" Absol suggested lowering his head onto his paws. "_-Trust me…-_"

"…so I think that you two should travel together!" Cruz finished with a large white flash of light reflecting off of the glass of his glasses.

"…wait, say what?" Miles and Kris shouted at the same time.

"I know what you're thinking," Cruz chuckled lifting his hands up in a defensive manner. "Cruz, how do you expect us to travel with complete strangers? Not to worry! You've got tonight to get to know each other!"

"But why you may ask? Simple! Its always a good idea to travel with another, the squirt will escort Miss Durain to Domon City, and in return, Miss Durain will make sure that the squirt will take the league challenge. It's a win-win situation!"

"…is this guy stupid?" Kris asked turning towards Miles.

"…I'm starting to think so…" Miles replied.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Lee:** _-This is awesome! Someone besides Miles to talk to!-_

**Miles:** What about…

**Lee:** _-Oh! Right! Thanks for the reminder Miles!-_

**Miles:** Anyway, this is quite insane…I can't believe I'm now being forced to not only escort this girl, but also taking this challenge!

**Lee:** _-Heh, I love watching your life…its funny!-_

**Miles:** I'll get you back sometime…

_**With a new ally, Miles gets another annoyance, but will he be able to pull together before his first official gym battle? Find out next time in – **__**Chapter 11: Flag the Opening Battle**_

**Miles:** What does that title even mean?


	11. Chapter 11: Flag the Opening Battle

_**Chapter 11**_

_**Flag the Opening Battle**_

_**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

"…_so I think that you two should travel together!" Cruz finished with a large white flash of light reflecting off of the glass of his glasses._

"…_wait, say what?" Miles and Kris shouted at the same time._

"_I know what you're thinking," Cruz chuckled lifting his hands up in a defensive manner. "Cruz, how do you expect us to travel with complete strangers? Not to worry! You've got tonight to get to know each other!"_

"_But why you may ask? Simple! Its always a good idea to travel with another, the squirt will escort Miss Durain to Domon City, and in return, Miss Durain will make sure that the squirt will take the league challenge. It's a win-win situation!"_

"…_is this guy stupid?" Kris asked turning towards Miles._

"…_I'm starting to think so…" Miles replied._

"And what's so stupid about my idea?" Cruz pouted pushing up his glasses to hide the demise that was planted on his face.

"Because there are other ways to solve this problem!" Miles shouted, jumping from his seat. "Like for one, couldn't we just set her up with some bus fare? Or how about you escort her yourself!"

"Although annoying, I do have to agree with the idiot," Kris sighed shaking her head at Miles.

"Hey!"

However, Miles's complaints fell onto the deaf ears of Kris, "Why don't you just give me the money, and I can transfer you it later when I get back home?"

"Hmm, that is a good point," Cruz thought out loud rubbing his chin slightly.

Miles couldn't believe it, was someone actually going to listen to him? And that someone was going to be Cruz?

"Nope!"

…so much for Miles's hope…

"What do you mean 'Nope'?" Kris demanded with her eyes narrowed at the silver overcoat wearing man.

From the cold glare from the pre-teen, Cruz lifted his arms up in a defensive manner. "N-Now wait a minute here little lady, I-I already explained that I have to get back to work tomorrow…"

"_-Are you sure Cruz?-_" Absol questioned from the corner, his head tilted slightly to the side as Lee did the same. "_-Since when have you been known to get to work on time?-_"

"Not helping here Absol!" Cruz growled.

"_-I hardly ever do…-"_ Absol chuckled as the disaster pokemon lowered his head to the ground.

Cruz brought up his gloved hand, covering his mouth, mostly to hide the scared look his mouth was giving away, "A-Anyway, as for the bus fare idea, I'm kinda hurting on cash myself…"

"Is that why you made me buy lunch?" Miles asked with a droplet of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"No, it was your turn to buy lunch," Cruz chuckled wagging his finger at Miles.

"What the heck are you talking about!?" Miles snapped throwing his arms about in the air. "Today was the first day that we met and you made me pay!"

"Now then, any other questions?" Cruz inquired turning a blind eye to Miles's ranting.

"Stop ignoring me!"

"Then it's settled!" Cruz announced with his hand clapped together. "You two will travel together; I trust you two don't have any objections?"

"I do!" Kris shouted slamming her fist into the nearby wall.

Miles crossed his arms at Cruz and narrowed his eyes as Lee yawned loudly from the bed, "Same here! I've been forced to do everything everyone has been telling me to do ever since I got to Saora! And frankly, I'm getting tired of it! And another thing…"

Before Miles had a chance to continue, Cruz placed a hand onto Miles's shoulder, forcing the young trainer to look up into the older man's face. A chill ran Miles's spine when he was met with the eerie smile that was on Cruz's face, "Now, now, now kiddo, you should learn to listen to your adults and follow their advice…like I'm giving you right now…"

The smile was making Miles calm down, and yet, it still sent that shiver down his spine…and that's when Cruz turned towards Kris, almost making her just as calmed down, "And as for you young lady, you should be more trusting of people…"

Absol just rolled his crimson eyes at his trainer's actions, "_-Great…as usual…-_"

"_-Wait…what just happened here?-_" Lee asked before he leapt off the bed. Lee gracefully landed on the ground next to Absol, getting the dark disaster pokemon's attention.

"_-Heh, its just something that Cruz came up with in his spare time,-_" Absol explained, scoffing to the side with a sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head. During his travels with Cruz, Absol learned that Cruz was the flashy kinda guy…

…how about telling us something new here?

Anyway, over their travels, Cruz had spent a few nights when they were forced to rest outdoors working on his weird techniques. There were at least thirteen different techniques that Cruz had created, he said that he had names for them, but he wasn't going to tell the names.

Why?

It's cooler that way.

Back to reality (or what was close to it in any case with this group), Cruz crossed his arms at the two young trainers, "Since I trust that neither of you have any objections, I'll be helping you two along the path of righteousness!"

"What?" Miles and Kris questioned at the same time.

"_-Don't question his choice of words-_" Absol yawned as he stretched his claws onto the ground. "_-Sometimes he doesn't know what he's talking about…-_"

Both Miles and Kris sweatdropped at Absol's comment, but Cruz ignored the comment as he threw the door wide open. "So, off we go!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 12:59 pm_

_Location: Outside some weird building,_

_Burgundy City_

And that's how Miles and Lee found themselves standing in front of a large, weirdly shaped building. The building itself was at least a story tall with many decals of flames that raced over the building; the building also had several windows in the main structure that were also painted with flames.

Lee was starry eyed as he gazed at the building while he leapt from Mile's shoulder, "_-W-Wow!-_"

Miles on the other hand couldn't help but sweatdrop at the building, more specifically the sign that was written over the doors, "…are tacky signs a fad here?" The sign read 'Burgundy City Gym: Flag for Flames!' "And 'Flag for Flames'? What does that even mean?!"

"_-Aw don't be a stick in the mud!-_" Lee laughed as he turned around on his heel to look at Miles, "_-After all, Cruz did go through all the trouble to bring us here.-_"

"…you really don't see it do you?" Miles asked.

"_-See what?-_"

"I've been forced to do something again!"

"_-Ah, bear with it like a man.-_"

"This coming from a pokemon who was born in the previous week," Miles sighed reaching into his pocket to pull out the small platinum case that had his name drawn on it with permanent blue marker on it. The memory plagued his mind when he looked at it…

"_Here you go kiddo!"_

"_What the? What's this?"_

"_Trust me, kiddo, you're gonna need it when you're working on the Gym League Challenge…"_

"_Now wait a minute!"_

"_There had better be a badge in that case when I see it next!"_

With a loud slap to his forehead, Miles shook his head. "…dang it."

"_-Hey Miles…-_" Lee stated crossing his arms towards Absol who was sitting next to Miles. "_-Why is HE here?-_"

"That's…a good question," Miles admitted turning towards Cruz's lead pokemon. "Why exactly are you here?"

"_-You have Cruz to thank for that as well,-_" Absol explained, his head slightly tilted to the side. "_-Since he was with that angry girl with him, he wanted me to watch your battle in his stead.-_"

"And what's the point of that?" Miles asked.

"_-How do you expect me to know?-_" Absol retorted.

"…why do I bother?" Miles asked to no one in particular before he slowly headed towards the doors to the gym. "Well, might as well get this over with."

Just as Miles was about to open the doors, the doors themselves flew open, slamming into Miles's face. The force sent him spiraling backwards, crashing face first into the ground. Lee and Absol blinked in confusion as Miles pushed himself off of the ground. "O-OW!"

"_-Doors one, Miles none,-_" Lee chuckled loudly poking Miles's shoulder.

"Erg…why did you say that?" Miles moaned rubbing his bruised nose, and yet it wasn't bleeding.

"_-Just calling it a feeling,-_" Lee replied.

"Oh, my, are you okay?"

"Huh?" Miles questioned as he turned around to see the person who slammed the door in his face, standing in the doorway of the gym.

There was something familiar about the guy, but Miles couldn't his finger on it. With his long brown hair (which was braided in a few locks) covered with a hat that had a fiery design on it, the rugged faced young man scratched his chin. And his slightly muscular body was covered with a yellow vest over a black jumpsuit that creaked when he bent over towards Miles. "Dude, I asked are you okay?"

"Nothing that a bandage can't fix," Miles groaned as he stood up. '_And a lawsuit…'_

"Then, that's good for ya," The rugged man replied shutting the door behind. "I'd hate to spend any more time here than I have to…"

"Yeah, wait, what?" Miles asked, blinking a few times at the rugged man.

"I don't like repeating myself," The rugged man said with a shake of his head. "You see, I've got a pair of guests tonight and don't want to keep them waiting longer than I have to."

"Uh, well, before you go," Miles started rubbing the back of his head. "Do you think you could help me?"

"That all depends," The rugged man replied crossing his arms over his chest. "What do you need? Cause if its cash, I can't help ya on that."

"As much as I would like money," Miles commented, thinking about how his wallet had thinned out because of Cruz. "That's not why I'm here. Rather, I'm supposed to find a gym leader, I think…"

"…I see…" The rugged man sighed loudly, adjusting his bandana. "Great, I guess I'm going to have to keep my guests waiting then…"

"Why do you say that?" Miles asked raising an eyebrow.

Cracking his neck a few times, the rugged man threw his thumb up towards Miles and the two pokemon, "Because, I am the Burgundy City gym leader! Warren Sinclair, at your service, at your service!"

"Sinclair?" Miles thought out loud, where had Miles heard that name before? …oh well, if he couldn't remember it, then it wasn't important.

"Way to repeat my name," Warren sighed shaking his head. "Now, are you here to talk about my name or did want something, something?"

"Yeah, well…" Miles really didn't want to battle this guy, maybe he should've just turned around and walked away.

Before Miles had a chance to finish his sentence, Leo ran up in front of Warren, his paw thrown towards the rugged Gym Leader. "_-We're here to fight!-_"

"LEE!"

"_-Quite the excessive pokemon you have there,-_" Absol snickered.

"…you be quiet," Miles growled.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" Warren laughed loudly as he threw his head backwards. As the laughter rang through the air, Miles and Absol sweatdropped at the Gym Leader's behavior while Lee tilted his head to the side. "I can see the fiery soul in the eyes of this young fox!"

"Fiery soul?" Miles questioned, he had a few choice words to call Lee, and 'fiery soul' wasn't on that list of choice words. "…I'd call him more of a bothersome thief."

"_-Aw, ya know you love me!-_" Lee chuckled, scurrying up to Miles's shoulder, a grin plastered all over the Riolu's face.

"No I don't," Miles retorted.

"A battle is what you're wanting, and then you came to the right place!" Warren laughed slowly sliding behind Miles, making the tricked trainer to jump slightly. Throwing his arm over Miles's free shoulder, Warren slowly pushed Miles forward towards the entrance of the Gym, Absol slowly trotting behind. "I'm sure that my little sis and her bug haired boyfriend won't mind waiting a little bit longer."

"…bug haired?" Miles questioned, now this was getting annoying.

"By the way kiddo, kiddo," Warren stated before kicking the doors to the gym open (apparently it was a pull/push door) to allow the two teens and the two pokemon to walk into the room. "You got a name?"

Miles was really getting tired of being called kiddo, "The name's Miles Sabers and I guess…"

"Hold up, hold up, hold up," Warren stopped in mid-step, only to step in front of Miles. "You said Miles right?"

"Yeah…what of it?" Miles asked.

"Never you mind, never you mind," Warren replied spinning on his heel so that his back was to Miles. "We should just get this battle over with, yep!"

Miles stood still, rubbing his chin a few times. This didn't go unnoticed by Absol as the disaster pokemon just walked past Miles, "_-Is there something troubling you?-_"

"Its something," Miles replied slowly walking into the gym. "But, I can't put my finger on it…"

"_-I've noticed that he seems to repeat himself a few times,-_" Absol pointed out.

"_-Will you two just hurry up!?-_" Lee barked directly into Miles's ears, making the forced trainer stagger to the side a few times.

"OW!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 1:05 pm_

_Location: Burgundy City Gym,_

_Burgundy City_

The inside of the gym was quite different than what Miles thought it would look like, rather, the inside was almost a complete mismatch. The walls were adorned with red and blue flags that had a weird symbol of fire imprinted on them and thanks to some of the open windows in the building, the flags whipped about.

While on the main floor there was a large rocky field that looked almost real (if it wasn't for the fact that there was grass indoors). But what caught the attention of Miles, were the two separate flags at both ends of the field, both with the same mark on them as the flags on the walls.

"Hey! Hey!"

Miles shook his head getting his train of thought back on his head; Miles saw that Warren was standing on the other side of that very field holding up two small clothes of blue cloth. "Yeah?"

"I'm sure that you're excited and nervous about this," Warren chuckled tossing the blue cloths in the air a few times. "But don't worry, don't worry, things will turn out in the end the way they were supposed!"

'_Actually, I was forced to do this…'_ Miles thought to himself before Lee leapt off his shoulder. "Huh?"

"_-Bring it on! We're ready to take anything you can dish out!-_" Lee barked a few times before waving his paws towards Warren.

"Lee!" Miles shouted.

"Ha, ha, what a fiery soul, what a fiery soul!" Warren laughed loudly crossing his arms. "I have to admit, I've never seen such a pokemon willing to fight so earnestly for his trainer…"

"_-Hey, don't get the wrong idea, I can fight you without Miles,-_" Lee stated turning his head to the side. "_-He's just here for comic relief.-_"

"What?!" Miles shouted, now his own pokemon was taking a shot at him. "You little…I'm your trainer!"

"Ahem…" Warren cleared his throat, only to get ignored.

"_-I don't need a trainer,-_" Lee retorted with a cool look appearing in the Riolu's eyes. "_-Besides, I've gotten stronger and I don't need you…-_"

"Excuse me…"

"What the hell are you talking about Lee?" Miles shouted stomping his foot forward, glaring down at the fox like pokemon. "You couldn't even be alone for ten minutes, and you were running away because you stole that scrap you call style!"

"Hey…"

"_-The past's the past,-_" Lee retorted throwing his own glare at Miles. "_-The now's the now, and right now I'm going to battle…-_"

A blood vessel twitched on the side of Warren's head, sure he could admire their fiery spirit and willingness to fight…but this was just getting annoying now, "KNOCK IT OFF! KNOCK IT OFF!"

Both Lee and Miles stepped back from the sudden yell, sweat rolled down their heads at the fiery aura that appeared around Warren's body. When he realized that the two had stopped fighting, the fiery aura disappeared around Warren, and a warm smile appeared on his face. "Ah, excellent, excellent. Now, since you two are going to be fighting together, I'm required to ask, is this your first time in a gym in Saora?"

"Uh, yes," Miles answered quickly, not wanting to get an angry Warren again.

"Then allow me to explain how we do things in Saora," Warren requested, his hand placing itself on the small blue flag that was next to him. "In Saora, each gym leader is permitted to design his or her gym's challenge. This can range to a regular battle like you would have in the streets with your fellow trainers, or go as far as like a contest battle to show who ever has the flashiest moves…"

'_-Ah…the good old times,-_' Absol thought to himself sitting behind Miles and Lee.

Warren drew the flag from the ground, waving over his head in a proud manner. "But for me and my gym, we go for a classic game of capture the flag!"

"…capture the flag?" Miles questioned as a few question marks popped over his head. "You want us to play…"

"_-Sounds awesome! Sounds cool! Sounds…-_" Lee shouted out with his tail wagging back and forth until a thought popped into his head. "_-…wait. Miles, what's capture the flag?-_"

Miles fell over slightly. "Yeesh, you get all revved up about the challenge and wanting to go it alone," Miles sighed, crawling back up and rubbing his forehead. "And you don't even know what the challenge is."

"Heh, then I can explain," Warren volunteered, slamming the flag back into the ground, allowing the flag to billow behind him. "Capture the flag is a game where two or more teams compete to get the opposing team's flag. Here in the gym however, there are two teams the red team, which will be you guys since your little Riolu there is wearing a red scarf…"

The young Riolu rubbed the back of his head, his furred face tinted red slightly, "_-Heh, call us the team with style!-_"

"…and the blue team, which will be me," Warren grinned reaching for the back of his belt. "The teams will actually be two pokemon of our choice, and it'll be their job to get the flag from the opposing team. There will be one guard and one seeker for the team. The guard's position is rather easy to explain, they just have to protect the flag, while the seeker…well, seeks out the flag."

"You win by snatching the flag and bringing it back to your flag. And if you win, Sabers, you'll get this!"

Warren fished for something in his pocket, pulling out a small pin that had a red flag on fire for its design. "A little something called the Pyro Badge; it'll mark your victory over me and the Burgundy City Gym!"

"Alright," Miles replied before he looked to his pocket. Now he knew why Cruz gave him that small case in the first place.

"So, I'll assume that you'll be using your Riolu and Absol then?" Warren surmised looking at the two pokemon.

"Huh? Well, not exactly, wait," Miles thought out loud, his eyes widening in realization, maybe Cruz had sent Absol to fight for him and give Miles an edge. "Can I have a moment?"

"Take all the time you need," Warren replied with his arms crossed. '_Devising, devising a strategy…most excellent!'_

"Hey Absol…come here for a second," Miles requested as he crouched down to be eye level with the disaster pokemon.

"_-And what can I help you with, Miles?-_" Absol asked, tilting his head to the side slightly. Although, Absol already knew what Miles was going to ask him, after all, he'd seen was Absol was capable of when they had tackled Maxwell and the two Team Storm grunts.

Miles looked left and right, taking note that Lee was throwing a few punches into the air, "Well…did Cruz send you here…to uh, help me?"

"_-…Nope!-_" Absol chuckled.

Falling face first into the ground, "What!" He scrambled to his feet, his eyes narrowed down at the disaster pokemon. "Then why in the world did he bother to send you?"

"_-We've been through this before,-_" Absol explained lowering his head down to relax. "_-Though it seems pointless, he just wanted me to watch your match. Besides, I'd rather not waste my time on a match that wouldn't get me anything in return…-_"

"Not even if I got you anything to eat?" Miles offered.

Absol didn't even say anything; his resolve was too strong to be bribed.

"…dang it…" Miles sighed loudly standing up. "Uh, Warren, I won't be using Absol…"

"Your choice, your choice," Warren shrugged tossing two pokeballs into the air. "But that won't change mine! Go, Growlithe and Geodude!"

The two pokeballs snapped open, releasing two waterfalls of pure light that splashed onto the ground in front of Warren. The first light morphed onto small red and white furred pup, whose fur was striped with black streaks while the fur on the back of its head streamed backwards. "Growl!"

The second pokemon was actually floating in front of Warren, which was weird since the pokemon was nothing more than a large rock with a pair of eyes, arms and a large mouth on it. "GEO!"

"These two haven't let me down so far," Warren explained as he knelt down to get near his two pokemon. "And I have complete faith that they'll keep making me proud…"

"_-Now why can't you be as supportive to me?-_" Lee asked with puppy dog eyes.

"Because I doubt those two ever got Warren into a mess like you did to me," Miles replied harshly.

Warren finished tying on the blue bandanas around Growlithe's neck and Geodude's arm, allowing the two to charge onto the field, ready to protect the blue flag that their trainer had to protect. "Heh, you two are certainly interesting to watch, but we've got a gym challenge get to! So, bring out your pokemon!"

"Fine," Miles replied as he reached for the only other pokeball that was latched on the back of his belt. "Come on out!"

The ball flew into the air before it snapped open, releasing a small light that crashed into the ground right before the red flag. The light twisted and turned; until it died down to show a foot tall green cocoon that stood on one edge with her eyes on both sides of her body. "_-…-_"

"…I guess Caterpie's changed from shy to quiet," Miles sighed walking to his cocoon pokemon with a red scarf in his hand that was near the other flag. Tying the red bandana under his evolved pokemon's eyes, Miles shook his head. "But, since you became a Metapod…I don't know if you even have a mouth."

"_-Hey! Don't worry! I can speak for the both of us Miles!-_" Lee laughed picking up the second scarf that was near the flag.

"…that's what I'm afraid of…" Miles sighed.

"_-An odd bunch they are,-_" Absol commented from the sidelines.

"Alright, I guess we're ready," Miles stated. "Lee and Metapod are my choices!"

"Then it's agreed!"

"Huh?" Miles muttered turning to the side to see the owner of the newest voice, and at the sight of the person, a large sweat droplet rolled down the side of Miles's head. "W-Who are you?"

From out of no where, stood a young man with spiky blonde hair that stood up to reveal his sharp face. Dressed in a white button down shirt, black pants and long red tie, the young man turned to Miles with a stern face. "I am Jim Gai, official referee for all gym challenges that take part in the Saora Gym League Challenge. I am here to enforce all rules and regulations so that no trainers are hurt."

"If you cannot follow the rules to the book's T, then I will be forced to take action to discipline!"

"…every time I turn around, there are more and more freaks," Miles moaned, tears streaming from his eyes. "WHY!"

"_-Hey, I like meeting these freaky people,-_" Lee protested.

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: At the same time_

_Location: Unknown,_

_Venomous Fang Order Lair_

Speaking of freaky people…

Turner walked down the halls, a smirk slowly crawling on his face with the grunts that went by him saluted in respect…or to be more accurate, fear. Since the koi pond incident, Turner had stiffened up his own rules and regulations that had grabbed more respect from the grunts, but also from the leader himself.

With that newfound intimidation, Turner was able to proudly walk to the leader's main office. Not even the large doors that stood in his way could stop him, nothing could…

…unless a sweet aroma lofted from under the cracks of the doors, making a twitch appear on the admin's face. "Huh? What's that smell?"

"YEAH!"

Now all that confidence that Turner had…disappeared, "Dear Latios, what is he doing now?" Placing his hands on the doors, Turner was almost reluctant to open then, but it had to be done, and the sooner he got it over with, the better.

The doors slowly creaked open, and the sweet smell became stronger now accompanied by a small tune…

_**Do you like Waffles?  
Yeah, we like waffles!**_

_**Do you like pancakes?  
Yeah, we like pancakes!**_

_**Do you like French toasts?  
Yeah, we like French toasts!**_

_**Di bi di bi di, get waffles!**_

_**Waffles!  
Waffles!  
Waffles!  
Wa- Di bi di bi di, get waffles!**_

"…I'd say I'm disappointed," Turner sighed with a slap to his forehead. "But for that to be true, I'd need to be surprised first…"

It was a party inside the leader's usually dank office. Streamers, a jukebox, a small cooking stove and with several Venomous Fang Grunts and Agents with some of the fore mentioned breakfast foods leaned against the walls.

And where was the leader in all of this?

Cooking said breakfast foods at the cooking stove, donned in a blue cooking apron that said 'Kiss Me, I'm the Cook!' in bold red letters. "Hey! It's Turner! Come on in and enjoy the party!"

How much did Turner want to smack the leader upside the head at the moment was a mystery even to him. So, going with what seemed natural, Turner slowly stepped towards the stove with a quizzical look on his face. "…sir, what in Groudon's name are you doing?"

"What? You don't like Parry Gripp?" the leader asked.

Turner blinked a few times before he pushed up his glasses. "What? No, I've got nothing against him…I'm just surprised that you're having a party, that and the fact that everyone should be working now!"

"Aw don't be like that," the leader chuckled, holding up a small plate of waffles. "Here, have some waffles! It'll ease your troubles!"

"Sir, my troubles will be eased when you get some work done!" Turner shouted, making the music scratch off beat. "And could you please get those fattening things away from me? I don't eat dirt…"

"GASP!"

Turner turned around, noticing that everyone was looking at him, all of them glaring at him. "…what?"

"You do realize that this is the Order's Breakfast Club, right?" The leader asked chuckling with his arms crossed.

"The what?" Turner asked, however, before he could get an answer, several Venomous Fang Order Grunts tackled into him. "ACK!"

"Never underestimate the power of waffles," the leader chuckled before taking a fork to the waffles. "That was your first mistake Turner."

"HELP ME!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: Meanwhile_

_Location: Burgundy City Gym,_

_Burgundy City_

"Trainers, ready?" Jim Gai asked turning towards Miles and then Warren.

"You better believe it! You better believe it!" Warren chuckled as this two pokemon struck a pose in front of him.

"I guess so," Miles replied, casting a glance at Lee (who was currently throwing a few punches into the air) and Metapod…who just stood there.

"Then trainers…" Jim Gai stated as he slowly lifted his arm into the air, only to throw his arm towards the battle field. "Battle!"

"Geodude! Defensive position! Don't let anyone get near that flag unless I tell you!" Warren commanded as the Geodude floated in front of the blue flag with his arms crossed. "And I didn't forget about you Growlithe! Charge in and get it!"

Growlithe leapt forward, running directly over the field towards the red flag. The speed that the pup pokemon was going at was making the small dog pokemon become a running red blur that flew over the field. Miles blinked a few times before he shook his head. "Lee! Stop him now! Quick Attack, don't let him get any closer!"

"_-Not a problem!-_" Lee shouted before he ran forward, his body becoming a blue blur with a red stream flowing around his neck.

"Fighting speed with speed, eh?" Warren chuckled throwing his fist up. "Not a problem for me! Growlithe charge head on with your own Quick Attack!"

The red blur leapt into the air spinning around to slam into the blue blur. "GROWL!"

"_-Oh, no you don't!-_" Lee barked leaping directly into the air, spinning around to send his foot into the Growlithe's face.

However, the foot was intercepted by the fire pup's tail, allowing the Growlithe to spin over the attack. Both pokemon landed behind each other, only to turn around to attack once more. Growlithe throwing his head forward while the red scarf wearing Riolu spun around to fling his foot towards the Growlithe once more.

BAM!

The two small pokemons' attacks collided, yet neither of them fell, they just floated there in mid-air.

Warren smirked… "Heh! Now Growlithe! Ember!"

"What?!" Miles shouted.

Taking the moment to prepare itself, the Growlithe snapped open its mouth to unleash several small embers that flew directly into Lee's body. After a few seconds, the embers were too much, flinging Lee into the air until he crashed into the ground. "_-OOOWWW! That burns!-_"

"…I guess your fiery spirit was just a front," Warren sighed snapping his fingers a few times. "Growlithe…let's make this a new record! Be prepared to announce me the winner Jim Gai!"

"Only if you win this Warren," Jim Gai replied as Growlithe landed on the ground rather softly.

"Not going to be a problem!" Warren shouted before Growlithe charged forward, past a slightly singed Lee. "With Metapod just standing there, I don't have to worry about a guard and with the Riolu down for the count…"

Growlithe stomped over the field, until the fire pup pokemon used its powerful legs to jump over Metapod, "…this match is done with!"

The fire pup was getting closer and closer to the flag…

WHAM!

With a powerful kick to its neck, the Growlithe went skidding backwards onto the fake battle field.

Landing on the ground in front of the flag, Lee panted with his paws lifted up into the air, "_-I'm not just going to let you walk over us!-_"

"…Lee…" Miles muttered, lowering his head to allow his hair to overshadow his eyes. Did Lee really want to win this for him? Snapping his head upwards, Miles threw his hand up into the air. "…You're right! We're not going to let him walk over us! Are we Lee?"

"_-Heh…trying to steal my lines now are we?-_" Lee asked as he stood up straight next to Metapod. "_-But…you're right!-_"

From the sidelines, a smile crept on Absol's face, "_-Heh…looks like the real battle's about to begin…-_"

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Lee:** -_Huh? Another cliff hanger?_

**Absol:**_ Well, what do you expect? The author didn't update this story for a few months._

**Vyser D:** That hurts you guys…

**Absol:** -_We're just going to ignore that, especially when Miles and Lee have some bigger issues at hand than the author's incompetence.-_

**Vyser D:** Seriously! Why is everyone taking a shot at me today?

**Lee:** _-Nothing's going to stop us now!-_

_**The battle continues next time! Will Miles and Lee be able to come out on top or will they left in the cinders of what could be their first defeat at the hands of their first Gym Leader?**_

_**Chapter 12: Passionate Flames!**_

**Lee:**_ -…why does the author think we'll lose?-_

**Vyser D:** Heh, who knows? Please review and you'll get an E- Waffle, Pancake or French Toast!


	12. Chapter 12: Passionate Flames

_**Chapter 12**_

_**Passionate Flames**_

_**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

"…_I guess your fiery spirit was just a front," Warren sighed snapping his fingers a few times. "Growlithe…let's make this a new record! Be prepared to announce me the winner Jim Gai!"_

"_Only if you win this Warren," Jim Gai replied as Growlithe landed on the ground rather softly._

"_Not going to be a problem!" Warren shouted before Growlithe charged forward, past a slightly singed Lee. "With Metapod just standing there, I don't have to worry about a guard and with the Riolu down for the count…"_

_Growlithe stomped over the field, until the fire pup pokemon used its powerful legs to jump over Metapod, "…this match is done with!"_

_The fire pup was getting closer and closer to the flag…_

_WHAM!_

_With a powerful kick to its neck, the Growlithe went skidding backwards onto the fake battle field._

_Landing on the ground in front of the flag, Lee panted with his paws lifted up into the air, "-I'm not just going to let you walk over us!-"_

"…_Lee…" Miles muttered, lowering his head to allow his hair to overshadow his eyes. Did Lee really want to win this for him? Snapping his head upwards, Miles threw his hand up into the air. "…You're right! We're not going to let him walk over us! Are we Lee?"_

"_-Heh…trying to steal my lines now are we?-" Lee asked as he stood up straight next to Metapod. "-But…you're right!-"_

_From the sidelines, a smile crept on Absol's face, "-Heh…looks like the real battle's about to begin…-"_

"Then Lee! Get in there!" Miles shouted.

"_-No need to tell me twice!-_" Lee barked back before he charged forward, passing Metapod.

"Heh! Look at this! Look at this!" Warren chuckled before Growlithe and Geodude jumped in front of him. "It looks like we've got a real battle on our hands! So, if that's the case, then how about you two give him a run for his money?"

"Geodude! Rollout!"

"Growlithe! Quick Attack!"

Tucking in its arms, the boulder pokemon spun forward before becoming a large boulder that charged forward with Growlithe following closely behind. Lee stood his ground placing his foot back.

"Lee! Wait for it…" Miles muttered under his breath as the boulder was drawing closer and closer, crushing all of the fake plants that got in its way. "…wait for it…"

With narrowed eyes, Lee kept his glare at the oncoming boulder, his paws lifted up. The boulder was only a foot away from him…

"Force Palm!" Miles shouted throwing his hand up towards his Riolu.

Throwing his glowing paw forward, Lee slammed his paw directly into the rolling boulder that pushed him to skid backwards. His hind paws dug into the fake ground, sending dirt flying upwards into the air. "_-Grr…n-not good!-_"

"That's it! Keep it up!" Warren announced as Geodude began to spin even faster and faster, pushing the red scarf wearing Riolu back even further. "And Growlithe! Do your thing!"

"Growl!" The fiery pup pokemon barked running past the charging Geodude, heading for the flag that was in front of Miles.

"_-N-No! It's not going down like this!-_" Lee shouted turning his paw slightly, pushing the charging Geodude to the side, directly towards Growlithe. "_-Yeah! That a Lee Beatdown!-_"

"Yes! It won't be able to turn in time!" Miles announced pumping his arms in the air a few times as the charging Geodude was only a foot away from the surprised Growlithe.

"I don't know what your Riolu said," Warren chuckled before he snapped his fingers twice. "But he shouldn't get so excited…Growlithe! Jump!"

Miles blinked in confusion as he watched the Growlithe leap into the air just before the Geodude ran over the fire pup. He, along with Lee and even Absol watched in awe as the Growlithe spun around until he landed on the ground softly once more. "That's the way little buddy! Little buddy!"

"Dang it!" Miles growled noticing that the Geodude was turning around. "Lee!"

"_-Huh?-_" Lee questioned just before the Geodude slammed into his body, sending the small fighting pokemon flying into the air. "_-Gak!-_"

Miles's eyes widened as Lee crashed into the ground hard on his back, "LEE!"

Just as Miles was about to step onto the battlefield, a loud whistle stopped him dead in his tracks. Jim Gai held his arm up towards Miles. "Stop! I cannot allow you to run onto the field while a gym battle is in currently operating."

"But, my Riolu…" Miles started before Jim Gai held his arm up once more.

"This will be your only warning," Jim Gai replied crossing his arms. "The battle will continue!"

"…dang it…" Miles growled before noticing that both Growlithe and Geodude were charging towards the flag once more. "Oh, double dang it!"

"As Jim Gai said, as Jim Gai said," Warren chuckled lifting his arm up. "This battle will continue! Geodude! Growlithe! Get that flag right here, right now!"

Both of Warren's pokemon just flew past Metapod, both diving for the flag at the same time…

"_-THAT HURT YOU JERKS!-_" Lee shouted before slamming his foot directly into Growlithe's face, sending it flying directly into the Geodude. The force sent them both tumbling on the battlefield till they slammed up against a nearby rock. "_-Yeah! Enjoy your trip, see ya next fall!-_"

Miles sweatdropped as he watched Lee stretch his arms and legs from getting almost crushed, "How in Groudon's name did you learn that cheesy line?"

"_-…shouldn't you pay attention?-_" Absol questioned from the sidelines, stretching his legs. "_-…I mean, you've got an opening to his flag or to attack his pokemon, if you make his pokemon faint then you automatically win.-_"

"What? Is that true?" Miles asked turning towards the surprised Warren.

"Is what true? Is what true?" Warren questioned with a few question marks popping over his head.

"Wait…didn't you hear Absol?" Miles stated, only to get a few more question marks appearing over Warren's head. "_…but that doesn't make any sense though…I can understand Lee and the other pokemon…so, shouldn't other trainers?"_

"_-Miles! What are you doing!?-_" Lee barked waving his paws in the air a few times. "_-We're in the middle of a battle here!-_"

"_-Hey runt! To your right!-_" Absol barked from the sidelines.

Before Lee was able to respond to that comment, both Growlithe and Geodude slammed directly into the small fighting pokemon's body sending him skidding into another rock with a loud smack. "_-OW! THAT REALLY HURTS!-_"

"You should really pay attention," Warren advised with his finger wagging a few times at Miles. "As a young trainer, you should've known that."

"Well, excuse me!" Miles snapped noticing that Lee slowly stood up, holding his arm as if it seriously wound. "Lee, are you okay?"

"_-Heh, nothing that a bandage or a lawsuit can't fix,-_" Lee chuckled moving his bruised arm slightly.

"I'm glad your pokemon's alright," Warren stated combing a hand through his hair. "But you'll have to step it up a notch since it looks like both of your pokemon are rather incapacitated."

"_-Wow! A five dollar word!-_" Lee exclaimed with starry eyes.

"…I think I'm finally understanding where you get your language from," Miles muttered under his breath, not wanting to look more insane than he would already be. "But, we're not done yet Warren! Not by a long shot!"

"You don't say?" Warren questioned raising an eyebrow at Miles. "Then lets test that shall we? Growlithe! Geodude! Do what you two do best!"

Both pokemon nodded to each other until Geodude spun on the ground towards Lee while Growlithe trotted towards the flag, completely ignoring Metapod with a smirk. Miles's eyes widened at the sight of the Growlithe that kept coming closer and closer to the red flag. "Lee! Force Palm! Try to do what you did before!"

"_-Yargh!-_" Lee shouted slamming his glowing paw into the rolling Geodude… unfortunately, the boulder pokemon was moving too fast for his Force Palm to push the boulder to the side, and the small fighting pokemon was forced to skid backwards once more due to the force of the spin.

"That last time was just luck," Warren explained crossing his arms at Miles. "You see, each and every time Geodude uses Rollout in a row, Rollout becomes stronger and stronger! And since your main fighter is busy dealing with him…"

That's when Miles noticed that Growlithe was sitting right in front of the flag, a mischievous grin plastered all over the fire pup's face. "…while your Metapod; well it looks like this is in the bag. Growlithe, if you would be so kind?"

Barking in reply, Growlithe slowly reaching for the flag…Miles head was racing with thoughts faster and faster as everything else seemed to slow down. '_I shouldn't care that this is a battle, I've got nothing to lose…heck, the only reason I'm even here was because of a few idiots…and yet…'_

'…_and yet, why am I getting so worked up over this? Is it Lee? Am I acting this way because of him? Or…was it…'_

_**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

_Time: Five Years Ago_

_Location: Honen Region,_

_Rustboro City, _

_Near Petalburg Woods_

"_Alright Miles, what's up?"_

_A younger, seven-year old Miles looked up at the daunting teenager that stood next to him, his cut short brown hair dyed with a few yellow lightning bolts (save for the long tail that was tied back) blew back in the wind, as did the blue overcoat he wore over his slightly muscular body… what was weird though, his face looked exactly as the older Miles's did save for the three hairs on his chin. "Axel…"_

"_Hey, hey, hey," the older teen, Axel chuckled waving his arms up in the air in front of his face. "I thought I told you to call me bro, or maybe the Great Axel?" _

"_Whatever Axel," Miles sighed raising an eyebrow at his crazy older brother (who was currently pulling on the long hair tail in annoyance). "Anyway…I'm glad you're back in all…but…"_

"…_Miles, remember what I told you the day before I left?" Axel stated wagging a finger at his younger brother once more. "I told you to hold your questions till after I became the champ!"_

"_Yeah, and you said that you'd become the champ when you came back," Miles answered back._

_Axel fell backwards with his limbs twitching vigorously until he jumped back to his feet with flames in his eyes. "Dang it Miles! Why do you always have to be so negative and so mature!?"_

"_Well…dad's crazy, and you're no better," Miles sighed rubbing the back of his head a few times. "I can still feel the bruises from dad's Morning Extra Special Body Slam Wake Up Call…so someone has to be, uh, those words you said…"_

"_Ha! You can act all mature all you like, but you won't be able to hide the fact that you're a kid," Axel laughed kneeling next to his kid brother to pinch his brother's cheek rather hard. "No matter how hard you may try kiddo!"_

"…_and you can try to be so cool as much as you want," Miles replied slapping Axel's hand away. "But you'll always be a geek in my eyes!"_

"_Ow! My pride!" Axel laughed with fake tears streaming down his eyes._

_A few minutes later…_

"_So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Axel asked taking a seat next to Miles._

_This was usually what the two brothers did when they had to talk seriously, they'd insult each other, maybe someone would cry, or even perform a few wrestling moves (but only if their father Duke was in on the scene)…but it would always end with the two sitting next to each other watching as the sun would begin to set. _

_Miles rolled his eyes at his brother, "Well…why did you become a trainer in the first place?"_

"…_Oh, that?" Axel questioned blinking a few times. "I don't know…"_

_Miles couldn't help but fall over from his brother's answer, but he immediately sat up straight to glare at him, "Oh come on! What kind of answer is that!?"_

"_Heh, sorry little bro," Axel chuckled before he turned back to the sunset. "But…if I had to say, my reason would have to be…well…this is actually hard…"_

"_Oh come on! You must've had a reason!" Miles pouted rolling his eyes again. "You don't make such a rash decision on the snap of your fingers!"_

"_Hmm…tell you what, little bro," Axel muttered out loud, throwing an arm around Miles's neck. "If you become a trainer, and some how manage to beat me in a match…I'll answer your question!"_

"_Me? A trainer?" Miles sighed pushing Axel's arm off of him. "I wouldn't become one even if my life was on the line!"_

"_If that's the case, then you'll never find out why I became a trainer," Axel replied standing up straight, getting Miles's attention. "…and if that's the case…I'll have to hold you to that, cause if you become a trainer after you've shown me such pride, I'll give you the Axel Dynamo Suplex"_

"…_did dad teach you that move?" Miles asked with a sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head._

_**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**_

"_Why…why am I remembering that at this time?"_ Miles thought with his eyes closed. He should've paid attention to the battle, and yet his thoughts were elsewhere. "_…and I just realized this but, I've gotta stay away from my older brother now…he might just be as crazy as dad now, and I'm a trainer!"_

"…_and as a trainer…I can't lose this battle!"_

"Lee!"

"_-I'm a little busy here!-_" Lee shouted out slamming his other paw into the rolling Geodude in an attempt to push it away from him. "_-And it looks like I'm going to get crushed here!-_"

"Right…" Miles muttered as Warren's Growlithe clamped its teeth around the pole of the flag, pulling it out of the ground. "…and Metapod's not going to be much help here…and Absol dashed my hopes of using him…"

"_-What do you expect?-_" Absol asked tilting his head to the side slightly. "_-Unfortunately for both of us, I was caught by Cruz…although, I wouldn't mind being your pokemon to tell the truth. But still, we can't do that, and I'm sure Cruz wouldn't be willing to trade me off…-_"

"…Yeah…you tell me that just when I'm about to lose!" Miles shouted pulling his hair.

…

A bright flash erupted over the field, making everyone (except Lee and Geodude who were both still going at it) turn towards the field where Metapod stood…in fact, the light was engulfing Metapod so brightly that Growlithe had dropped the flag to the ground.

Miles's eyes grew wide at the sight of the light, almost stinging his eyes, "…this light…it…it was like before, then that means…"

A smirk appeared on Absol's face as he lowered his head down, "_-…your Metapod, or should I say…-_"

Two large, yet beautiful pink wings emerged from the back of the light engulfed Metapod, flapping a few times until the wings pulled out from the light. Miles looked up as the light died down to reveal that the wings belonged to a large butterfly that fluttered around, turning her head to the side as if she was a shy being. "…wow…"

"_-…Butterfree will snatch this match in the bag…-_" Absol finished his sentence before he dozed off.

"No way! No way!" Warren shouted taking a step back. "I can't even remember the last time a pokemon evolved in the middle of a gym battle! And it's a pokemon that can actually add a level of degree to challenge!"

"Uh…okay," Miles stated snapping out his black pokedex from his pocket, holding it up towards his newly evolved Butterfree. "…I don't need that, I need to know what moves that can be used here!"

"Heh…still, if he can't use it," Warren sighed in relief before Growlithe grabbed the flag in its mouth once more. "Then victory is still in the bag! Growlithe! Let's hurry up and get that victory!"

"Don't think so!" Miles shouted throwing his hand up towards Butterfree. "Use…how did it go? Ah! Right! Confusion!"

Butterfree flapped her wings a few times before a bright light began to radiate from the bug pokemon's antennae. A light that immediately appeared around the surprised Growlithe's body, making it drop the flag on the ground with a clank as its body began to rise into the air.

"No! Growlithe! Growlithe!" Warren shouted with his eyes widened.

"I think you should pay attention to your other pokemon," Miles advised.

Warren turned his head to the side to see what Miles was getting at, seeing that Lee had just jumped over the rolling past Geodude, cracking his neck a few times. "_-Hey, what'd I miss?-_"

"Lee! Now's our chance!" Miles shouted clenching his fist in front of his chest. "Grab their flag! Quickly!"

"_-Roger Miles!-_" Lee barked before he ran forward, jumping over the rocks and other pieces of fake nature on the battlefield.

"Urk! G-Geodude! Stop that Riolu! Rollout!" Warren shouted, sweat rolling down the side of his head as the boulder pokemon rolled after the running Riolu, crushing the plants in its path.

However, this time, Lee was ready! Using his powerful legs, the fighting pokemon jumped over the charging Geodude, landing on top of the spinning pokemon to run backwards on the boulder pokemon. "_-Rolling, rolling, rolling, Rawhide!-_"

A large sweatdrop rolled down the side of Miles head as he watched Lee get closer and closer to Warren's flag by the second. "How in Latios's name did he learn that?"

"…he must've watched my Growlithe perform the technique and just branched off that," Warren explained, thinking that Miles was meaning Lee running on top of Geodude. "But, if that's the case, Geodude! Stop right in your tracks!"

The spinning Geodude immediately stopped, flinging Lee off its rocky body, flying directly towards the flag. However, stretching his paws out, Lee latched onto the flag's pole spinning a few times till he landed on the ground at the flag. "_-Oh yeah, I rock!-_"

"You'll only rock if you can get that flag over here!" Miles shouted throwing his hand into the air. "So hurry up!"

"G-Geodude! Tackle! Tackle!" Warren commanded as his Geodude flew over the field its arms crossed to ram into the unsuspecting Riolu…

…only to receive a glowing paw right between the eyes, sending the boulder pokemon directly into the ground spiraling. Placing the flag pole on his shoulder, Lee lowered his paw down with his eyes narrowed, "_-That trick won't work on me any more! And now…let's end this Miles!-_"

"Right! Just get right back over here!" Miles announced.

"Geodude?" Warren muttered turning to the side to see that Geodude's eyes were spinning to show that the boulder pokemon was knocked out. "Erg…G-Growlithe?"

Unfortunately, Growlithe was still floating up in the air thanks to Butterfree's Confusion attack, unable to move. "Uh…n-not good…"

"Not good at all," Jim Gai stated making Warren turn towards the usually silent gym judge. "Miles's Riolu already reached the red team's side…"

"What?! What?!" Warren shouted, taking note that Lee was indeed taking that one step that allowed victory to be snatched from Warren's grasp. "…great…"

"Winner: Miles Sabers!" Jim Gai announced throwing his arm into the air towards Miles.

"We won?" Miles questioned blinking a few times with several question marks popping over his head. "…we actually won?"

"_-It would appear so…-_" Absol said trotting up next to Miles. "_-Congratulations Miles, you just won your first gym battle…-_"

"_-Aw yeah! I'm a big, blue wrecking crew!-_" Lee shouted throwing a few punches in the air as Butterfree floated down behind him, getting the blue fighting pokemon's attention. "_-…Huh? Who are you?-_"

"Lee…she was Metapod," Miles sighed with a slap to his forehead.

Warren lifted two pokeballs up, recalling both Growlithe and Geodude back, before he crossed his arms over his chest. "You're lucky, you're lucky, to have a pokemon evolve in the middle of a battle…and to even win in the end? You are lucky!"

"Uh, yeah," Miles muttered with a sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head as Lee and Butterfree walked up to their trainer. "…so what happens now?"

"Now you get," Warren started reaching into his pocket, snapping out his hand immediately to hold out a small red and gold badge that was in the shape of a flag that was looked to be made out of pure flames. "The Burgundy Town Gym Badge, the Pyro Badge!"

A little wary of taking the badge, Miles reached into the gym leader's hand lifting up his treasure into the air to allow the lights to gleam the badge's red into his eyes. "…so this is a gym badge? I was expecting something a…well, something a little bigger."

"Well, at least on the plus side," Warren sighed rubbing the back of his head. "Your pokemon should respect you more for winning that badge."

"Really?" Miles muttered turning towards his Riolu. "Lee…tell me, do you respect me?"

"_-…well, I respect the fact that you keep getting me food, does that count?-_" Lee asked before Miles fell face first into the ground with a loud crash. "_-What?-_"

"Hmm, you're an interesting guy," Warren admitted holding his hand down to Miles. "But I think you're a nice guy to be friends with my little sister…"

"…Little sister?" Miles asked standing up straight before he turned towards the three pokemon. "…do I know a little sister?"

"_-You're asking the wrong mon,-_" Lee replied.

"_-I as well don't know the answer,-_" Absol stated cracking his neck a few times.

And Butterfree just turned her head towards the side.

"I guess you must not see it," Warren chuckled adjusting his hat to allow his braided hair to fall. "So, allow me to reintroduce myself, I am Warren Sinclair, gym leader, ladies man, and the older brother to the new trainer Valerie Sinclair."

"Y-You're Valerie's older brother!?" Miles shouted taking a step back.

"Ding, ding, ding! Give the man a prize!" Warren laughed clapping his hands a few times. "Oh wait, you've already got the prize, the Pyro Badge."

"Yeah, I guess so," Miles sighed, just remembering what was waiting for him after this gym…the crazy Cruz and the slightly violent Kris…not something that would help him in his life. "…so, where'd Jim Gai go?"

"Ah, he usually disappears until another trainer's gym battle," Warren explained. "But, it's a rarity that you'll meet him again. Gym Referees usually change shift at different cities and towns that have a Pokemon Gym every week."

"Well, he had an interesting name," Miles replied.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 1:35 p.m._

_Location: Burgundy Town,_

_Burgundy Town Streets_

After leaving the gym, Miles wasn't in any hurry to return to the center so, he just slowly walked through the streets with his arms behind his head to enjoy the cloudy day. "…now this is living…"

"_-Miles! Let me out!-_" Lee shouted from his pokeball clipped to Miles's belt.

"Say Absol," Miles started turning his eyes to the side to look at the disaster pokemon, ignoring the complaining Riolu completely. "You mind answering a question or two for me?"

"_-If it is in my abilities to do so, then I don't see why not,-_" Absol answered immediately rolling his eyes.

"Well, the one thing that gets me," Miles stated rubbing his chin. "Is how I'm able to understand Lee…but how come others can't?"

"_-I would think that you'd know that answer,-_" Absol replied rolling his red eyes. "_-When a trainer and his or her pokemon connect on a higher level, then they can communicate…rather simple really…-_"

"…and you don't see the other question I have?" Miles questioned stopping suddenly.

"_-Other question?-_" Absol repeated with a few question marks appearing over his head a few times.

"How come I can understand you?" Miles pointed out, pointing towards Absol with his finger. "If I'm correct, then I shouldn't be able to understand you since you're not my pokemon, your Cruz's."

Absol turned his head to the side, trying to come up with an answer. Honestly though, he was used to other trainers to not be able to understand him, only Cruz could understand him and even then Cruz would ignore what Absol would say. "_-Hmm…well, I'm not really sure how to answer that Miles…I mean I can't say that I know you that well, so that rules out that relationship explanation…-_"

"And it's not just you," Miles continued remembering a few other times when he understood pokemon. "I actually understood Kurai and Valerie's pokemon well…but, Warren's were another story."

"_-Hello! Let me out of here, now!-_" Lee barked from the pokeball once more.

"_-…tell me something Miles,-_" Absol requested closing his eyes. "_-When did you start to notice this? The ability to understand pokemon?-_"

"Uh, I'd guess maybe a little after I got Lee," Miles answered thinking back to when he first understood Lee…then about the Pidgey, Pidgeotto and Pidgeot attacking him and Lee, making Miles shudder a few times.

"_-…I see…-_" Absol stated before walking forward. "_-Oh, and Miles…I'd watch your back.-_"

"My back?" Miles asked.

"LOOK OUT KIDDO!"

"ACK!"

BAM!

The next thing Miles knew, he was face first in the ground with a boot in his back…a great weight pushing the boot down. "Ha, ha! Looks like someone needs to work on their reaction time!"

"_-Good afternoon Cruz,-_" Absol greeted nodding towards his master that stood on Miles's back, Kris walking up behind the crazy overcoat wearing man with a few bags held tightly in her hands. "_-Same to you, Miss Kris.-_"

"You ever think about putting that mongrel on a leash?" Kris asked gesturing towards Absol who took a step back.

"_-Why I never! That was just rude you little…-_" Absol snarled before a gloved hand flew in front of his face.

"I'll admit that the idea is intriguing," Cruz chuckled patting a slightly mad Absol on the head. "But, I'd think a muzzle would work even better…"

"_-Cruz!-_"

"Heh, I'm just kidding my little friend," Cruz replied.

"…et o…"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, Absol, did the kiddo get that badge??" Cruz asked turning to stare his red eyed pokemon straight in the eyes.

"_-As a matter of fact, he certainly did,-_" Absol answered turning down.

"Uh, Cruz…" Kris started noticing that Miles was digging his fingers in the ground.

"GET OFF!" Miles roared, sending Cruz falling to the ground as the forced trainer leapt to his feet, a powerful flame of anger coursing through his veins. "CRUZ!"

"Oh, that's where you went kiddo!" Cruz laughed, dusting off his overcoat. "I was wondering where you had…"

"YOU KICKED ME TO THE GROUND AND THEN YOU STOMPPED ON MY BACK!" Miles roared his eyes set ablaze.

"Now that's a fiery spirit!" Cruz laughed loudly throwing his arm around Miles's neck, surprising the enraged trainer. "And congrats for taking the first step to becoming a master, and while you've been doing that, me and Kris here have taken it upon ourselves to prepare you two for your journey together!"

"_-I hope you bought them edible food instead of that Top Ramen stuff when you started,-_" Absol commented making Cruz sweatdrop out of embarrassment.

"Ahem," Cruz coughed. "Food, clothes, a backpack, a sleeping bag, and a tent…pretty much anything a trainer needs…but I didn't know why we had to get a swimsuit…"

"Its summer," Kris replied rolling her eyes at Cruz. "What do you expect?"

"Uh, anyway, since you two have a long day ahead of you," Cruz explained walking forward with his hand folded behind his back. "Then I suggest you two should get some rest for the rest of the day…and while you do that, Miles you will treat us to diner..."

"Wait a minute! The Pokemon Center has free dinner," Miles complained running after Cruz with Absol and Kris. "Why do I have to pay for dinner!?"

"You expect a three star restaurant to serve free food?" Cruz asked back not turning to face Miles.

"How much money do you think I have?!" Miles roared.

Kris could only sigh with a slap to her forehead as she followed the two. "…idiots…"

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Lee:** _-Ha! First victory goes to me! The big, blue, wrecking crew!-_

**Miles:** Yeah, well, don't get too comfortable…it looks like things are about to get even tougher…

**Lee:** _-What makes you say that?-_

**Miles:** …You can honestly ask that? We've got someone else following us, and lets not forget that you're usually causing trouble, and for all I know, I might be going crazy for the fact that I might be actually able to understand you!

**Lee:** _-Looks like someone needs a vacation.-_

**On the road once more, this time the travels get harder with another travel companion…how long till the tension has the two calling for each other's blood?**

**Find out next time! In – **_**Chapter 13: Rough Skies **_

**Miles:** …why do I not like that chapter name?


	13. Chapter 13: Rough Skies

**Chapter 13**

**Rough Skies**

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 10:06 A.M_

_Location: Route 307,_

_Outside Burgundy Town_

"No Lee…"

"_-Alright…how about Berry?-_"

"No."

"-_Bugsy?-_"

"Nope!"

"_-Uh, how about…-_"

"LEE! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! STOP!"

Ever since the morning sun arose over the horizon, with Cruz gone and Burgundy Town behind them, Miles and Lee, along with their new traveling companion Kris, walked along the path to Domon City (all the while keeping the end goal of Domon City).

And every minute was filled with Lee asking Miles questions…questions about what to name Butterfree. "_-I got the perfect name for her this time!-_"

"Lee…I swear…" Miles growled clenching his fist at Lee who was a few good feet away from his trainer.

Meanwhile, a few feet behind the trainer and Riolu was none other than Kris, rolling her eyes at the two acting like this…sadly, this looked to be her fate, at least for a while yet. With the fighting pokemon barking loudly, and the bad luck induced pre-teen as her traveling companions, Kris questioned how long her sanity would last in this state…

…her bet was that it wasn't going to be long till she cracked…

"RETURN!"

Trying his hardest not to be caught, it was futile for the small fighting type pokemon, becoming engulfed in the powerful red light. "_-You can't keep me in here for long!-_"

With a sigh, Miles lowered his head. "…the sad part is…I know he's right."

However, instead of a verbal response, Miles just noticed that Kris just walked past him, her eyes rolling at the moment she had passed him. '_…well, this is certainly going to be fun…_'

"Are you coming or not?" Kris growled getting Miles to straighten up immediately.

"Fine…fine, I'm coming," Miles moaned trying to catch up to the tomboyish girl.

As he walked slightly behind Kris, Miles couldn't help but notice the grassy area around them, according to what Cruz had stated to get to Gardner City there was supposed to be, they'd have to travel through a mountainous terrain in order to reach it…but from what Miles could tell, there wasn't a mountain anywhere you looked.

All Miles could see were the trees…the grass…the large flock of Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot flying nearby…and the ever continuing roa…

"…wait a second," Miles muttered under his breath as he slowly turned around, and immediately turned white at the sight. "ACK!"

"Now what's wrong with…" Kris groaned as she turned around and immediately saw what had made Miles stop dead in his tracks immediately. The flock of fore mentioned birds steadily flew closer and closer towards the two teens…

"RUN!" Miles shouted taking a lead on running from the demented birds.

"HEY! WAIT FOR ME!" Kris yelped, her legs finally getting the message and making her run fast right behind Miles, just as the birds were about to dive down on the two pre-teens.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 10:27 a.m._

_Location: Venomous Fang Order,_

_Lair,_

_??????_

After all his experiences in the last week, Turner was glad that at least some quiet had finally come to the evil lair. Working on some paperwork in his office, Turner just hummed himself a cheery tune as he signed his name.

There was something different though…something different about today, but Turner couldn't put his finger on it.

But with a shrug of his shoulders, Turner just continued with his paperwork until he raised his head up, realizing something. "…its quiet…almost too quiet…"

With a click, Turner flipped the switch on the intercom, "Uh, sir…is everything alright?"

There was no response.

"…sir?"

Still nothing…

"Are you there?"

What do you think dood?

"…are you asleep again?"

…you've got to be kidding me…

"…great…I know I'm going to regret this …" Turner mumbled under as he stood up from his desk, slowly turning towards the doors of the leader's room…some would say that it would be convenient to be located next to the boss's office…of course, Turner would say that this was more of a curse really.

Slowly, the Venomous Fang Order Admin slowly pushed opened the doors of the office, allowing the light from outside to pour into the darkened room. "Sir? Not that I care, but are you still alive?"

The only response Turner got were the chirps of many crickets that seemed to have found their way into the room. "…I'll have to call an exterminator sometime…" Slowly, Turner stepped into the darkened room, wary about the dangers that might lie and wait for him…

Click…

"What was that?" Turner asked blinking a few times…

With a chorus of clicks, all the lights went on in the room, making the Venomous Fang Order Admin raise his arms up as a reflex to the lights. "ARGH! I'M BLIND! I CAN'T SEE! TURN OFF THE LIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!"

Since he was blinded by the light, Turner was unable to see where he was going and didn't notice that he had slipped on what could be best described as one of the leader's former lunches, making him fly into the air and directly into the leader's unoccupied desk with a loud boom. "ACK!"

With his right eye twitching slightly, Turner slowly slid from the desk, tears starting to form in his eyes because of him slamming a certain part of his body. "…t-the pain…"

One couldn't help but note that his voice was slightly higher than usual.

After a few minutes of quivering in pain while curled up slightly, Turner slowly clawed his way back to the top of the desk, "Damn it…I thought the maid would've been in here by now…"

The very moment he was back to his feet, Turner lifted his hand over his eyes, the bright lights were still on, but his eyes had adjusted slightly…enough so to see the small envelope that was on the surprisingly clean desk. Remembering the last few times the leader had left him a letter; Turner was a little more than eager to read that letter…

…but a few minutes later, when he was back at his desk with the letter in hand (and with more reasonable lighting) Turner carefully opened the letter addressed to him…making sure there weren't any explosives, ink squirts, or anything as the such.

"Dear Turner…

As you can guess, I'm not in my office…again…for, what is it? The twentieth time this month? Eh, who really cares?

Turner couldn't help but sweatdrop, not because the fact what he was reading the letter, but rather his boss actually put that into the letter.

"Anyway, I couldn't stand being cooped up in that office again! What with you cancelling the breakfast club, removing the koi pond, and selling my stash of video games, so, I decided that I need a vacation from you and the others. And this time, I'm not coming back for waffles, pancakes or French toast…no matter how much you make!

Once again, Turner couldn't help but sweatdrop at his leader's choice of words…that and the fact that his handwriting was nothing more than chicken scratch.

"But fear not, I shall return, my loyal admin…I'm just spending a weekend in the mountainside, so I should be back within the end of the week. So, hold my calls and tell my tailor that my newest suit should be ready when I get back…and don't call unless its vital…

"Leader, out!"

For a third time, Turner sweatdropped as he tossed the letter onto his desk, sometime in the future he'd have to put a tag on the leader's ear just to keep track of the elusive Venomous Fang Oder boss. Especially in these hard times, according to those two grunts, Chase and Zane, along with the Admin in the area (Turner thought that it was Admin Beryl), there was no sign of Team Atmos in the city…but then again Teams were known to hide in the shadows. Turner once read a file on a team in the Kanto region called Team Rocket…okay, maybe that wasn't the best example, but there were other teams that seemed to be more serious in their work and gain bigger numbers…

…This made Turner glad he was actually an Admin in an order…at least the grunts paid for the uniforms, equipment, and the electric bill.

However, it would appear that Turner had bigger problems to deal with, some of them concerning the large amount of paperwork that the boss usually had to deal with (although, it didn't matter, the boss usually just slid work to Turner). "…might as well get started…"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 10:42 a.m._

_Location: Route 307,_

_Forest near Mt. Hayashi_

"What…the…hell…was…that!?" Kris panted leaning up against a nearby tree in the forest while Miles just plopped down onto the ground.

Miles's head was racing like crazy, there was no way that flock of birds could be the same ones that Lee got mad…could it? Shaking his head slightly, Miles turned towards Kris who was currently looking behind the tree cautiously. "…What's the matter with you? Sure, the birds chasing us, was scary, but…"

"Just stop it!" Kris snapped with a nasty glare aimed at Miles.

"What?" Miles questioned, blinking a few times.

"Stop talking about birds!" Kris shouted. "Those blasted rats with wings!"

Miles rubbed his chin slightly, until a thought struck his mind, '_No way…couldn't she be…'_

"Kris…are you afraid of birds?"

An eerie silence lofted around the two pre-teens, Kris's eyes widening slightly from the prospect of her being afraid of birds, as if the very idea was taboo to her. However there was a small black shadow watching the two preteens from the slightly tall grass nearby… "…uh, why do you ask?"

Rolling his eyes slightly, Miles couldn't believe that she was denying it…but he was no better when it came to bugs. "Never mind…" Standing up, Miles adjusted his backpack and began to trek into the woods. "Now come on, we've got to get around this mountain, and I particularly don't want to spend the night lost in the woods."

"Wait a minute!" Kris stated running in front of Miles, both still unaware that the shadow that was watching them was slowly creeping up behind them. "Who put you in charge?"

"Oh for the love of," Miles groaned with a slap to his head. "Look, I could care less who leads who, but I've got this little number…" With that, Miles immediately reached into his backpack, holding up the small Pokegear up, flipping it open to show a small screen in it. "…and this happens to be our map. And unless you've got one, then whoever is holding onto this device gets to lead us…and look whose holding it right…"

Unfortunately, just at that very moment, the shadow that had been watching the two leapt into the air, making it into a black and gray blur that flew past Miles's hand…leaving nothing but Miles's empty hand. Miles blinked a few times before he realized that the Pokegear was gone…and all he could say was, "…huh?"

"You were saying something little man?" Kris chuckled lifting a hand to her mouth trying to stifle the laughter that seemed to pry itself from her mouth.

"WHERE'D THE POKEGEAR GO!?!?!" Miles shouted spinning around, looking for the small device.

"ARF!"

"Huh?" Miles questioned before a large sweatdrop rolled down the side of his head at the sight before him.

Standing before him was a small Poochyena that resembled Luna back at home, but this one seemed to have more energy due to the wagging tail the small puppy pokemon had. However, Miles was more concerned with what was in the small pup's mouth…

"THE POKEGEAR!" Miles shouted before he leapt towards the small pup pokemon…

…however, the small Poochyena leapt out of the way, slamming face first into the tree with a slightly sickening crack. "…ow…"

"…Does this mean that Poochyena is leading us?" Kris chuckled as she leaned over Miles, making the bruise faced trainer groan loudly

"Shut up…" Miles growled as he jumped to his feet and began to chase after the rouge pup pokemon. "…And after him!"

"…I'll take that as a yes…" Kris chuckled before she calmly jogged behind Miles and the thieving Poochyena.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 10:59_

_Location: Route 307_

_Forest near Mt. Hayashi_

_Open plain_

While the two pre-teens were chasing against the small furry thief, in the middle of a large opening in the forested area, a large black Jeep sat in the middle of the open field, a small tune floating out from the radio.

"Ah…now this is the life…"

Sitting atop of the hood of the vehicle, balancing what appeared to be a bottle of water on the tip of his finger, was a single man dressed in a fancy dark gray business suit with a long black tie around his neck, "A cloudless sky, a large flock of bird pokemon flying overhead, my favorite music playing…and to top it off, not a care in the world!"

Leaning back on the windshield, the well dressed man placed his free arm behind his head of long black (and oddly enough) silver hair, looking at the sky behind his shades. "Yep…these are days that make me glad to be…"

"COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE THIEF!"

With a yelp, the suited business man fell off the hood of his jeep, his water spilling over the back of his now dirty suit. As he immediately jumped from his crash site, the older man noticed that a couple of pre-teens were chasing a small Poochyena. Rubbing his nose slightly, the suited man took note of the device that was in the Poochyena's mouth… "It's so loud…I kinda like it…but…"

Calmly walking forward, the suited man watched the two teens chase the Poochyena, taking in every moment of the puppy pokemon…pulling his leg back…

WHAM!

With a swift kick, the suited man made contact with the rather surprised Poochyena, making the small pup flying slightly into the air, dropping the Pokegear.

Both Miles and Kris stopped both in their tracks, they spent a good fifteen minutes trying to catch that speedy little pokemon…and this guy with weird hair just comes out of no where and kicks the pokemon with no effort whatsoever.

"By the way you two were chasing that little guy," The suited man stated with a smile as he snatched up the Pokegear. "I can assume that this little number belongs to you two…"

"Uh, yeah thanks," Miles stated rubbing the back of his head as he held his hand out.

"Don't normally see people in this part of the woods," The suited man chuckled pushing up his sunglasses before he tossed the Pokegear into Miles's hands. "Seems kinda strange to see a couple of kids in the forest…well, at least not in this time of day…"

"It's kinda strange to see a business man in a forest, period," Kris replied crossing her arms. "You cutting work or something?"

"Hmm…" The businessman rubbed his chin slightly. Then with a clap of his hands, the business man began to laugh rather loudly. "Bwa ha ha ha ha! Touché little girl…I guess I am a little out of place here…but the same could be said about you."

"…can we cut out the witty banter?" Miles asked wiping the Pokegear clean.

"Aw, and I love the witty banter," the suited man chuckled combing a hand through his hair, allowing the silver and black mixed locks of hair to whip slightly through his fingers. "Well, as any gentleman knows, they must introduce themselves first to new comers. My name is Vergil Price, business man, guy who enjoys watching the sky, long walks on the beach, candlelit dinner…"

"What is this? The personal ads?" Kris commented, earning a sweatdrop down the side of Vergil's head.

"Ahem…well, I-I just get a little flustered introducing myself to new people," Vergil explained rubbing the back of his head with a blush appearing underneath his shades. "That I usually start to ramble on and on…uh, so, what're your guys' names?"

"GRRRR!"

That's when all three turned to see that the Poochyena Vergil had kicked was growling at the three, a blood vessel appearing on the side of its head.

"How interesting…" Vergil mused to himself as he slowly reached for the back of his belt that was covered by his business jacket…

"Go! Lee!"

Vergil's eyes widened as a bright light erupted from the pokeball that Miles threw into the air, forcing the light to crash into the ground, forming into a rather disgruntled Riolu, adjusting the red scarf around his neck. '_A Riolu? That's certainly rare in the Saora region…' _

That's when something hit Vergil, making him rub his chin slightly.

"What are you doing Miles?" Kris moaned with a slap to her forehead.

"I'm getting revenge!" Miles replied not taking his eyes off of the opposing Poochyena. "Are you ready Lee?"

"_-…you stuff me in that cramped little ball, and you expect me to fight just like that!!!-_" Lee barked, a pair of flames appearing in his eyes as he lifted his paw towards Miles. "_-I don't see why I should…-_"

Before Lee could continue his rant, the Poochyena slammed directly into the young Riolu's back, sending him face first into the ground, "_-ACK!-_"

The Poochyena chuckled slightly as Lee slowly stood up, the flames in his eyes burning even brighter, "_-…oh! That is it! ARGH!-_"

Lee immediately spun around, delivering a powerful kick towards the Poochyena's head, missing due to the pup pokemon's quick duck…but not quick enough to dodge the tail that slammed directly into the young pup's face, sending him skidding back.

Then in a blue blur, Lee appeared directly in front of the surprised pup pokemon, slamming a glowing paw directly into the pup's face, sending it skidding backwards once more.

Meanwhile, Miles couldn't help but sweatdrop at his pokemon's behavior, "…you could at least wait till I declare an attack…"

"I dunno, I think he's doing rather well without your help," Kris commented.

"Not helping!"

Vergil just watched the fighting pokemon beat down on the Poochyena with relative ease, not even batting an eye to miss even a second of this battle.

"_-I…-_"

WHAM!

"_-…don't like…-_"

BAM!

"_-…being interrupted!-_" Lee roared sending the Poochyena flying slightly into the air with another Force Palm, making the small pup pokemon yelp in pain with tears rolling down the side of his face.

Then, with a small crash, the Poochyena landed on the ground, whimpering as bruises began to form under the pup pokemon's fur. Lee stood in front of the in pain pokemon, crossing his paws over his chest, "_-You don't mess with the best.-_"

"…young man," Vergil stated tapping Miles on the shoulder, "May I suggest that you catch that pokemon?"

"Huh?" Miles questioned blinking a few times. Vergil just nudged Miles's shoulder once more, making the forced trainer to reach for his belt. "Fine…"

Cracking his paw somewhat, Lee stood over top of the whimpering Poochyena, "_-Now then…where was I with Miles?-_"

"Pokeball! Go!"

"_-Huh?-_" Lee questioned before a small red and white ball slammed directly into Poochyena's side, making the small pokemon yelp before transforming into a bright red light that was pulled into the small orb.

Lee just stared at the orb, remembering the day he first met Miles, and then when Miles 'caught' Caterpie. But his trek down memory lane was cut short when a small beep announced that the capture was complete.

"Well, congrats, you just caught a thieving Poochyena," Kris muttered under her breath as she rolled her eyes.

"Eh, you're just jealous," Miles replied sticking his tongue out at the girl as Lee slowly walked up to the group, balancing the pokeball on the top of his head.

"Way to act mature!" Kris shouted throwing her arms to the side.

"Ah…you two remind me of a couple I," Vergil chuckled crossing his arms.

"WE'RE NOT A COUPLE!" Both Miles and Kris shouted at the same time, making Vergil fall flat on his butt.

"_-…did I miss something?-_" Lee asked rolling the pokeball off his head.

A few minutes later, with Vergil back to sitting atop of his jeep and the two preteens standing in front of the jeep, Riolu just yawned slightly as he relaxed on Miles's right shoulder. "…and then we ran into the woods, which led to that little thief that I've got now too…just what I need, another thief on my team…"

"_-Will you just let it go?-_" Lee moaned with a slap to his forehead.

"Hmm…so, you two…" Vergil stopped himself before waving towards Lee. "I mean…you three, are looking to get over Mt. Hayashi?"

"That's the gist of it," Miles replied looking towards Kris. "The sooner we get over that, the sooner we get to Domon City, where I can part ways with her."

"Not like I enjoy spending time with ya either, ya know," Kris muttered closing her eyes.

"Well, if that's the case, you'd want to take the path that's a little further North of here," Vergil replied gesturing towards the mountain behind him. "It'll take a day and the path's not too steep, but if you're not in a hurry, you can always take the path around the mountain…but it takes a couple of days."

"Couldn't we just hitch a ride with you?" Kris suggested tapping on the side of the jeep. "Looks like it wouldn't be much of a trip…"

"That would be the case," Vergil mumbled rubbing his chin, '_And it's always more fun to ride in these things with others than alone…'_ Leaping off the hood, Vergil slapped his chest with his bare hand. "Very well, I guess I don't mind giving you two a lift, I just hope you don't mind the music I play."

"Of course we don't!" Kris stated pushing Miles towards the jeep. "Now let's get going!"

"W-Wait a minute! We just met this guy!" Miles yelped before Kris threw him into the back seat, Lee flying into the seat next to him. "Ow!"

"Shut up! If it means less time out here, then we're doing whatever it takes!" Kris stated walking around the other side of the jeep to get in the front passenger seat. "Besides…I'm calling shotgun!"

Vergil couldn't help but chuckle at the two preteens arguing with each other, it reminded him too much as how he and 'she' used to act when they were younger. But with a goofy smile appearing on his face, Vergil clicked the seatbelt around his waist, "Now then…safety first, everyone buckle up!"

…a few minutes later…

Nature was quite a quiet mistress, with only the chirps of birds, the crickets' songs, and the occasional bark of a wild pokemon…

"YEEHAAW!"

… so when the loud polka like music filled the forest, accompanied by the squeal of tires and shouts of a business suit wearing man, it wasn't hard to see that those sounds would be drowned out!

With the jeep flying over a small hill in the dirt road, Vergil threw his left hand into the air while Miles, Kris and Lee all grabbed onto the seats for dear life, tempted to let go just to cover their ears on the weird music that was booming all around them.

"STOP!" Miles shouted trying to get his voice over the loud music.

"WHAT?" Vergil shouted back, just getting over the music.

"TURN THAT DOWN!"

"HOLD ON A SEC. LET ME TURN THIS DOWN FIRST!" Vergil yelled reaching for the volume control…yet still driving the vehicle wildly as before. "Now…what were you saying?"

"STOP THIS CRAZY THING!" Even as Miles and Kris shouted this out, Lee barked out in a similar fashion that made Vergil sweatdrop.

"Huh? Why? We're making such great time," Vergil questioned shrugging his shoulders.

"JUST STOP IT!"

"Feh…fine," Vergil scoffed slowing down the vehicle. And at the moment of the jeep came to a complete stop, Kris, Miles and Lee all leapt from their seats, all of them trying to catch their breaths from screaming so loudly during the ride. "Ah, bugs in your teeth? Well, that tends to happen when you ride in a vehicle like this…"

"Ah, Vergil…uh…" Miles stuttered trying to remember the suited man's name.

"The name's Price," Vergil stated coolly pulling his sunglasses down, resembling that of a famous secret agent. "Vergil Price…"

"…right…" Miles replied with a sweatdrop. "We're going to walk the rest of the way…"

"Are you sure?" Vergil asked pouting slightly, trying to pull a sad puppy dog look on his face.

"What the hell?" Kris questioned blinking a few times at the weird guy with a sickened look appearing on her face a few seconds later.

"Uh, yeah, we're sure," Miles chuckled, with a sweatdrop rolling down the side of his and Lee's heads. "Thanks for getting us this far though…"

Lowering his head slightly, Vergil just snapped it back up to show the goofy grin had appeared on his face. "Well, alright kid, no worries on that. But from here, it'll still take half a day for you to get to Gardner City. I suggest that you and your little girlfriend stop at the spring that's on the way there…"

"WE'RE NOT A COUPLE!" Miles and Kris shouted at the same time…

…however, Vergil paid it no mind as he reached into his pocket, "…You should probably spend the night there. Pokemon only go there to get some water, and don't normally attack humans at night. Just be sure to build a fire strong enough to get going. Oh, and here," With that, Vergil pulled out a small white card that he held up to Miles. "If you two are ever in Stromberg City, drop me a line."

"Stromberg City?" Miles asked taking the card from Vergil, noticing that it was a business card that said 'Cold as Ice in the Prices, Price Co. President, Vergil Price.'

"A city that rivals Domon City," Kris explained, recovering slightly from Vergil's weird look and the fact that the man kept referring her and Miles as a couple. "Stromberg is one of the higher technological cities in Saora and it's thanks to…the Price…wait a minute, you couldn't be…"

"I'll be seeing you two later then," Vergil chuckled before flicking the loud polka music back on his music player, revving the jeep's engine a few times. "Later!"

And with that, Vergil drove off at an insane rate with the music still blaring out even though the vehicle had disappeared off into the distance. Miles blinked a few times before he fitted the business card into his pants pocket. "What a weird guy."

"_-Eh, I thought he was cool,-_" Lee barked slightly with a shrug of his shoulders. "_-His driving skills however…ugh, those scared me…-_"

"Have you been under a rock all your life?" Kris scoffed narrowing her eyes at both Miles and Lee.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Miles retorted with a question mark appearing over Lee's head.

"Don't you know who we just met?" Kris sighed with a slap to her forehead.

"Some weird guy with a strange name?" Miles suggested. "With a weird taste in music…"

"That was Vergil Price, the president of Price Corp.," Kris explained crossing her arms over her chest. "One of the leading technological corporations in not only Saora, but the entire world! It's because of them that the Saora region is one of the most technological regions in the world."

"Eh?" Miles looked dumbstruck, with Lee just shrugging his shoulders.

"We just met one of the most powerful men in Saora," Kris concluded wagging a finger at Miles.

"…well, how am I supposed to know that?" Miles asked before he looked down the path.

"Everyone in Saora knows Vergil Price!" Kris snapped throwing her arms to her sides. "Not only for his advances in technology, but for his numerous charitable events and donations that he provides at least once a month…"

"…well, for your information, I haven't been in Saora…" Miles replied before walking down the dirt road that Vergil himself had driven down moments ago. "...for hardly even a week."

"…a week?" Kris questioned before running to catch up with Miles. "You've been in Saora a week…and you're already a new trainer?"

"…I didn't even want to be a trainer," Miles admitted before turning to Lee. "But thanks to this blue pain in the butt, I'm stuck as one…"

"_-Aw, you know you love me…-_" Lee snickered tapping Miles on the forehead with his tail a few times.

"Quiet you," Miles hissed at Lee before turning back to Kris. "And my dad's insane, and thought that I wanted to be a trainer, so, he kicked me out of my house...so here I am."

"Wow…" Kris whistled slightly before taking a few steps a head of Miles. "Sucks to be you then!"

"WHAT!" Miles shouted with his hair standing on end slightly, making Lee jump slightly from his trainer's sudden outburst.

"Now hurry up and let's get out of this forest as quick as possible!" Kris replied before running off.

"What the!?" Miles shouted before running off behind Kris, Lee grabbing hold of the back of Miles's vest collar not to fall off. "You're not getting away!"

"_-W-WHOA! SLOW DOWN A BIT WILL YA!?!-_" Lee barked with his grip slowly slipping.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: ??:??_

_Location: ??_

BEEP!

BEEP! BEEP!

'Click!'

"Yeah? Oh…it's you. I thought I made it clear that…"

…

"…Ah, well, I guess that's important. I myself am on the way there right now…and yes, that is my music in the background. I should be there by nightfall…"

…

"…I see…so Professor Palm is involved? Be sure to keep a few of our grunts on watch on that Disco Stu wannabe, I want that formula that Team Atmos managed to get their grubby hands on…"

"Oh…and remember when those idiots screwed up their first mission last week? They're in Gardner City right?"

"…excellent…I just realized that they screwed up more than we originally thought…"

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Lee:**_ -Heh! With his newest, mighty opponent defeated, the mighty Lee travels back on the road!-_

**Miles:** Huh? All you did was beat up on a small Poochyena…

**Lee:** -_But hark! What is this? A new opponent has appeared! Striking Miles down in one shot!-_

**Miles:** What?! What do you mean 'Striking Miles down in one shot!'?

**Kris:** Nice knowing ya Miles…I'll be sure to leave ya a flower on your grave.

**Miles:** How can I be dead if I'm talking to you?

**Lee:** _-Next time! On Lee's Ultimate Martial Fights! Final Episode: The Avenger – Lee the Riolu! You won't want to miss a minute of this action!-_

**Miles:** …you've got to be kidding me…

_**Next time on Traveling the Miles – **__**Chapter 14: Prodigy of A Legend**_


	14. Chapter 14: Prodigy of A Legend

**Chapter 14**

**Prodigy of A Legend**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 6:37 p.m._

_Location: Route 307_

_Forest near Mt. Hayashi_

_Yards from the spring_

_"-… Hey Miles, are we there yet?-"_ Lee asked tapping Miles on the top of his head with his paw.

"No Lee…" Mile groaned lowering his head, half of him hoping to make Lee fall off of his head.

"Have you ever considered getting that runt a muzzle?" Kris sighed walking past the known to argue trainer and pokemon. "His barking is starting to give me a headache."

That earned Kris a death glare from the young fighting pokemon, "-_How about you say that to my face?_-"

It had been quite a few hours since the group of two preteens and rowdy Riolu had separated paths from Vergil Price, keeping to the path that the crazy driver had suggested that the three should take to get to Gardner City…

… only thing was, Price kind of underestimating the distance from where he had dropped them off to the spring. For hours the group had been walking on the dirt covered road, and for those same hours, Lee kept asking the same question over and over again, taking a few breaks from that to bark at Kris for insulting him.

To make matters worse, the forest wasn't only a haven for thieving pokemon, but also bug and bird types… not the sort of thing that either of the pre-teens wanted to deal with, especially with the sun beginning to set in the distance. "Seriously, why don't you put that runt back in his pokeball?"

"-_Heh! Like I'd actually be able to be trapped in something like that!-"_ Lee barked with a few taps on his chest, his nose pointed upwards in pride. "-_Even if ya did get me in there, I wouldn't be in there for long!-_"

"Can you two just be quiet for five minutes?!?" Miles shouted stopping in his tracks. "I think we might be lost…"

"That's impossible, we've been on the path ever since we left Mr. Price," Kris retorted stepping in front of Miles. "Besides, he said it would take a few hours to reach that spring."

"… Few hours yes… but not six!" Miles growled with a blood vessel appearing on his face. "That's why I'm saying we're lost!"

"We followed Mr. Price's instructions," Kris snarled, narrowing her eyes at Miles.

Miles slapped his forehead, getting ready to slam his head into a nearby tree just out of frustration, "… call me crazy, but the impression that I got from Mr. Price, I got the feeling that he was a few DVDs short of a box set!"

_"-Hmm… isn't it usually the other way around?-"_ Lee questioned with a few question marks appearing over his head.

"Lee, what are you talking about?" Miles hissed slightly at his pokemon.

"-_Well, when arguing about directions, doesn't the guy usually say that they know where they're going?-"_ Lee pointed out with a grin appearing on the Riolu's face, while a sweatdrop appeared on the side of Miles's head. _"-And doesn't the girl usually insist that they're lost? It's like a role reversal!-"_

'… how the hell does he learn this stuff?' Miles thought to himself before he shook his head.

"I'm really getting tired of his yapping," Kris growled pointing at Lee.

_"-Ya wanna say that again?-_" Lee warned.

"Oh for the love of…" Miles groaned with a slap to his forehead. "Not this again, this has been going on for…"

SPLOOSH!

"… huh?" Miles questioned turning slightly down the road.

_"-Miles? What was that?-"_ Lee asked with a few question marks over his head.

The sweatdrop just grew a tad bit bigger on Miles's head, once again surprised that his starter pokemon knew about a classic argument topic but didn't know what a splash was, "That was a splash…"

_"-…and what's a splash?-"_ the Riolu on Miles's head asked again, blinking a few times.

"See, we must be near the spring," Kris stated with her tongue sticking out at Miles before she began to run ahead. "We just needed to walk a couple more yards, and we would've made it! Race ya!"

"-_I'll take ya up on that!-"_ Lee barked with a great leap from Miles's head. "-_Besides, I want to see this splash! Maybe it's something to eat!-"_

Miles couldn't help but lower his head at the two racing to the spring, he could simply turn around… just walk away from this and head back home…

_"-HEY! Hurry up Slowpoke!-"_

Ah who was he kidding? If Miles's ran, he'd probably get a body slam from his father when he got home and then kick him out of the house for some other reason.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 6:45 p.m._

_Location: Route 307_

_Forest near Mt. Hayashi_

_Mountain Spring_

From the large mountainside, the forest abound the mountain was lush and full of pine and maple trees that managed to block out most of the sunlight save for the small patches of clearing that allowed the light to pour into the forest… such was the case for the area around the natural spring. With the grass greener around the area, the trees seemed to allow enough light to sparkle into the water, creating an aura around area.

With a rocky ledge behind the spring, a small tree was beginning its life around the water, obviously becoming healthy due to the abundance of nutrients and water, and the spring itself was quite beautiful, looked as though the touch of modern man had yet to stain this pure pristine beauty…

_"-Is this a splash?-_" Lee announced skidding at the edge of the spring, looking into the puddle to see his reflection.

… Let's see how long that lasts shall we?

"Damn it… that's… a fast little pup…" Kris panted out of breath just getting into the spring area trying to keep up with the speedy fighting pokemon.

Blinking a few times at the blue pokemon in the water a few times, Lee slowly brought his paw up to the water, as did the weird blue pokemon in it. While this was going on, Miles was slowly walking into the spring area, taking note of the trees, shrubs, the spring, the fact that Kris was now laying on the ground trying to catch her breath and Lee looking in the water as if he just discovered gold or something like that…

'_My luck's not that good…_' Miles thought with a slap to his head as he slowly sat down on the rather cool grass. That's when he turned to the tired out Kris, "… You okay over there?"

"What's… it to… you?" Kris panted finally getting the energy to sit up, sending a glare towards Miles as she pulled off her hat to wipe her brow.

"Yeesh, I was just curious," Miles replied as he took his backpack off his shoulders in order to at least get ready for the long night. After quite a few good hours of walking, this seemed a good enough time as any to get the camping materials, and truth be told the pair of energy bars that he and Kris (some of Miles's bar he gave to quiet Lee down, but that didn't last long) wouldn't keep the hunger at bay.

SPLOOSH!

Miles turned his head towards Lee, who was at the spring, taking a few swipes at the water with his paw. 'Well… as long as he isn't causing trouble or drowning…'

_"-Hmm…-"_ Lee muttered standing up at the edge, rubbing the red scarf around his thin neck at the weird creature in the water. _"-… whatever this thing is, I do have to say this… it does have style and looks like a handsome devil…-"_

A large sweatdrop rolled down Miles's head as he overheard the confusing Riolu's self-monologue, this trip wasn't going to turn normal any time soon… And Miles would have to spend some time and talk to Lee about some fundamentals, starting with reflections.

But with a shake of his head, Miles simply turned his attention to Kris, who had some how managed to inch herself to a nearby tree, leaning up against its base while writing in a small green book vigorously. Occasionally Kris would look up from the book, casting a bored and somewhat annoyed look at Miles…

_"-Miles! Miles!-"_

With a shake of his head, Miles turned slightly to the side to see that Lee's attention was no longer at the water. In fact, the young fighting type pokemon was now standing next to Miles with a goofy grin on his face, "… Okay, what'd you do now?"

_"-Heh…-"_ Lee chuckled rubbing the bridge of his nose. "-_I finally came up with names for Butterfree and that trouble making pup!-"_

'_You're a trouble making pup,'_ Miles thought before he slapped his forehead. "And didn't we go through this already?"

"-_Hey, when it comes to names, I'm the king!-"_ Lee laughed with a few taps to his chest. "-_Anyway, for Butterfree I was thinking…-"_

"I already came up with names," Miles interrupted digging back into his backpack, not noticing that Lee was blinking at him.

_"-…what?-_" Lee questioned.

Pulling out a few instant meals from the backpack, Miles turned to see that Lee's arms were shaking slightly. "Huh? Oh yeah, I decided to name Butterfree, Jasmine… for a bug, she's not that bad. And as for the thief… And no, I don't mean you Lee, I'm talking about that Poochyena. I've decided to call him Flay, mainly because he flailed a lot when you fought him, just with a little spice to it…"

_"-… you… you named them without telling me!?!-"_ Lee barked leaping at Miles, fire burning in the Riolu's eyes.

"WHAT THE!?!" Miles shouted before Lee crashed into him, making the trainer roll backwards with the Riolu trying to strangle his trainer…

Or that's what it looked like to Kris, "… idiots…"

After a few minutes of playful fighting and applying some bandages to the idiotic Trainer and fighting pokemon, the group of three sat around a small portable lamp (it was still light out so it wasn't on, at least not yet) slowly munching on the portable dinner that while Miles and Lee fought was cooking itself.

After taking a few bites, Kris raised an eyebrow at both Miles and Lee, who both shot glares at each other for a few seconds, "… you two, do you usually act like this?"

Miles put his meal down in front of him, making sure that Lee was too preoccupied with his own meal so he wouldn't have to worry about his food getting stolen. "Well, normally we don't fight, but Lee does tend to get into a lot of trouble…"

_"-Humph!-"_ Lee scoffed to the side while munching on his poke-chow.

"A troublemaker?" Kris muttered, her eyes dulling slightly before she shot a single cold statement at Miles, "Some trainer. You can't even tame your pokemon to follow your orders."

"Oh, and you're some master trainer, I suppose?" Miles retorted before taking an angry bite from his food. Miles couldn't help but take note that Lee was snickering at the comments. '_We're talking about you, ya little pain…_'

"I wouldn't say master," Kris replied crossing her arms. "But I do know a few things about taming pokemon."

That's when something hit Miles, making the forced trainer look at Kris with a raised eyebrow, "Say, I didn't ask this before, but, are you a trainer?"

"Well… In a sense," Kris replied reaching for the back of her belt. With a pair of clicks, Kris lifted up two pokeballs, only they seemed to have a dark purple shade to them for some reason or another as well as having…

_"... Stickers?"_ Miles thought as a large bead of sweat appeared on the back of his head. "With the way you talked, I'd figure you'd have more than just two…"

"I do, you idiot," Kris spat back tossing the two pokeballs up in the air a few times. "The others are back at home, I just don't go anywhere without these two. And they were with me when I was taken by surprise, so the others are back with my mom in Domon City."

"Well, uh, I'm sorry," Miles replied lowering his head, his hair covering his eyes. "I didn't know…"

"Why are you acting like someone died?" Kris questioned making Miles blink a few times in confusion. "We're on our way to Domon City anyway, so it's not like it's a big deal."

"… alright," Miles sighed rolling his eyes. '_If she has pokemon, she should be able to make it to Domon City on her own. Why the heck did Cruz even suggest that we travel…_'

SPLASH!

"Huh?" Miles and Kris questioned turning towards the spring, Lee on the other hand, well, he was still a little steamed at the fact that his names were ignored.

Slowly, popping up from the spring was a small blue mudfish like pokemon with a pair of three whiskers on the side of its face with a large fin on top of its head and as well as a fin like tail. "Mud?"

"… okay, well, now we know what that splash was," Miles muttered before turning back to his meal.

_"-… that's a splash?-"_ Lee questioned starting to head to the weird pokemon. _"-Wow! It looks just like a pokemon!-"_

"… that's because it IS a pokemon," Miles sighed rolling his eyes at Lee.

_"-Sweet! I call dibs to name this guy!-"_ Lee barked out waving his arms about in front of the confused mudfish pokemon.

"Lee… I'm not catching him," Miles replied taking a bite from the sandwich he had.

_"-What?!? Why not?-"_ Lee protested waving his arms at his trainer. _"-You got to name the other two! So it's only fair that I get to name this guy!-"_

_'… Okay, these two are actually arguing with each other,_' Kris rolled her eyes at the two, taking note that Lee was bouncing around Miles now. "I better be careful, I might just start arguing with Yurii and Drano…"

_"-Fine! If you're not going to catch him,-"_ Lee shouted clipping off one of the empty pokeballs off the back of Miles's belt. _"-Then I'll do it myself again!-"_

"What the?!" Miles shouted tossing his food to the side, and lunged at Lee, "You're not doing that again!"

"… Again, what?" Kris questioned watching Miles skid on the wet grass as Lee leapt into the air at the last second.

Spitting out some of the grass that got caught his mouth, Miles turned towards Kris… Unaware that Lee was standing on Miles's back, "A couple of days ago, Lee pulled this stunt before and he managed to catch me a Caterpie…"

"Your pokemon… caught another?" Kris asked, not sure if she ever heard of such a thing before hand.

_"-Enough of this gibber-jabber!-"_ Lee howled spinning his arm around with the pokeball in it. _"-We're catching this splash!-"_

"… I've got to start teaching him fundamentals," Miles moaned with a slap to his forehead.

However, Lee was more preoccupied with trying to get Miles another companion, "-_Pokeball… ready, g…-"_

"Halt!"

Miles, Kris and Lee looked around trying to figure out where that voice came from, but that's when a small blue blur snapped into the pokeball that the small Riolu held in his paws, "-_Ack_!-"

The blur landed into the ground, making Miles sweatdrop at the sight of the very item that had snapped into the pokeball in Lee's paws, "A… a rose?"

"In the name of all beauty and justice," The voice sounded again, this time showing a rather distinct accent that sounded like it belonged to a rock star or someone fancy. "I shall not… will not… and cannot allow you to capture my Mudkip, Daigo."

"Please don't let it be another freak," Miles held his breath, hoping that his luck wouldn't hold true this time… but more than likely it would.

Stepping from forest's brush, a young man, possibly a year or two older than Miles appeared before Miles and Kris, his long bright blonde hair tailed to fall over his right shoulder. At least from his sharp tanned face, Miles could tell that this guy wasn't some freak like Cruz, and when compared to Cruz, this guy's clothing was rather normal.

Dressed in a baggy purple satin jacket and a black wife-beater shirt, this young man bent down to pick up the small mudfish pokemon (which was apparently known as a Mudkip), and smirked at the two teens. He was also wearing a pair of baggy black jeans that were rolled up to show that he was wearing a pair of black boots (which didn't seem to fit a guy dressed so fancily). While strapped to his back was a large guitar case that seemed to have a few extra pockets sewed into the fabric.

'_At least he looks normal enough_,' Miles thought standing up, getting Lee to fall off his back. '_Save for the guitar case…_'

"-_ACK_!-"

"So, who the heck are you?" Kris asked crossing her arms at the blonde haired man.

"Oh, I beg pardon," the fancy dressed teen sighed back as his Mudkip did the same in the teen's arms. "In the rush of my pokemon almost being caught, I forgot to introduce myself."

Rubbing the back of his head, Miles waved his hand, "Sorry, I'm still trying to get Riolu trained to obey…"

That made the small scarf wearing Riolu fling his arms about in the air, the fire reappearing in his eyes, _"-HEY! My name's Lee!-"_

"Hmm, quite the rambunctious little pup you've got there," The blonde teen chuckled rubbing the top of his Mudkip's head, eliciting a small purr from the mudfish pokemon. "I'm glad that Daigo is more of the calm type, unlike that cold and calculating Treecko… but I have to say that Torchic did seem to have a cute persona…"

'…_ wait a minute_…' Miles thought as he placed a hand on his chin.

"But hey! There should still be a Mudkip left…" Miles speculated as Valerie and Kurai sent each other wary looks. "I mean…it looks like you two got your pokemon from the Honen re…"

"Actually, Mudkip was taken first," Kurai answered pushing his hair antennae from out of his face. "You see, each year Serene town receives the original starter pokemon from the other regions. This year, it was from the Honen region, and Professor Pine's son was the first to grab a pokemon. In fact, he was the first to leave a few weeks ago…"

"Oh! This is my son," Duke introduced skidding behind Miles and placing his hands on Miles's shoulders. "Miles, say hello to the nice man!"

"…dad I'm not a little kid, I can introduce myself," Miles sighed making Professor Pine laugh.

"Ah, he reminds me of my own son," Pine laughed loudly rubbing his chin at Miles.

"Ah!" Miles eyes snapped open, and with a snap of his fingers, Miles's caught everyone's attention. "I think I know you!"

"Oh, do you now?" the blonde teen chuckled, messing with a strand of hair on the side of his head.

"You know a guy like this?" Kris asked, wondering what kind of people her traveling companion usually kept.

"Well, I don't know him directly," Miles replied rubbing the back of his head. "But, if I know what I'm thinking of is true, then this guy," Miles pointed towards the blonde haired teen, who was more and more intrigued by the situation at hand, "He's none other than the son of Professor Pine!"

"… who?" Kris asked with a few question marks popping over her head.

Ignoring Kris, Miles couldn't help but notice that the young man's face turned serious, his brow narrowing over his shaded glasses and his smiling face turning into a scowl. "… yes, indeed I am the son of Professor Pine, I am Vayne Pine."

That's when the Mudkip jumped a few times in Vayne's arms, softening the hard look on his face back to a soft grin, "Oh, and I didn't forget you… as I said before this is my Mudkip, Daigo…"

"… that's a weird name," Miles stated raising an eyebrow.

"-_I think it sounds cool!-"_ Lee barked jumping onto Miles's shoulder.

"… of course you would," Miles sighed before rubbing Lee's head. "And I'm Miles Sabers, and this little blue pain is Lee."

_"-Aw, ya know ya love me,-"_ Lee snickered poking Miles in the side of his face.

"And she's Kris," Miles bluntly stated casting a glance at the girl companion.

"I can introduce myself!" Kris spat back, sending a death glare at Miles.

Vayne seemed to chuckle loudly as he leaned up against a nearby tree, "Ah, ha ha ha, trouble in paradise, I assume?"

"Not this again," Miles growled with a slap to his forehead, getting a snicker from Lee. "It's not like that!"

"Heh, just messing with ya," Vayne chuckled allowing his Mudkip, Daigo, to climb on his shoulder as well. "Sabers… any relation to the new whacky assistant my old man hired last week?"

"… whacky assistant?" Miles questioned with a large sweatdrop appearing on the side of his head.

"Of course," Vayne chuckled crossing his arms with Daigo yawning loudly while getting a weird look from Lee. "If it's not his loud booming voice, then it's his continuous blunders, like the other day I heard from my old man that he spilt all the research papers that your whacky father all over the lab…"

"… I didn't think that my dad was that clumsy," Miles sighed rolling his eyes at the description of Duke's behavior. "He just seemed to be a bit crazier than that…"

"Is your dad really that bad?" Kris asked, actually taking an interest in the conversation.

"Well, considering that he drop kicks me in the mornings to wake me up," Miles counted off while scratching the back of Lee's head, getting a rapid tail wag from the fighting pokemon. "Hardly listen to me when I talked, compared me to my big brother, and was usually giving a speech… he's still not as bad as he was when he was in that coffee drinking phase…"

That sent a few shivers down Miles's spine, just remembering those times.

"Coffee phase?" Kris questioned with a few question marks appearing over her head.

"Well, at least he sounds more fun than my old man," Vayne chuckled pushing up his shades. "At least your old man doesn't want you to follow in his footsteps…" Shaking his head, Vayne's hair fluttered about in a somewhat tamed manner. "Uh, a-anyway, what're you two doing here?"

Miles looked around, with the outside lamp, sleeping bag and the tent (which was Kris's thanks to Cruz's spending spree of Miles's money), the forced trainer would've thought that it'd be obvious what the two were doing, "… we're camping here for the night."

"Ah! Excellent," Vayne chuckled. "It's certainly a beautiful night to do so. Clear sky, warm summer breeze, a beautiful spring nearby, and a young lass sleeping nearby… that spells a wonderful night!"

"I told you it's not like that," Miles replied with a large drop of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"Couldn't help myself," Vayne commented with a shrug as he approached the camping lamp. "Anyway, would you two mind if I joined you tonight?"

"Can't camp by yourself?" Kris asked rubbing her forehead.

"Why spend the night alone," Vayne replied removing his guitar case and placing it on the ground behind him. "When you can spend the night in hopes of making new friends?"

"I got no problem with that," Miles stated turning towards Kris who was heading towards the tent. "What about you?"

"Does it look like I care?" Kris asked before zipping up the tent behind her.

"… Sometimes I wonder why I even bother," Miles sighed with a slap to his forehead.

"Hmm… you know, you two don't seem to be the kind of people to travel together," Vayne pointed out, slowly sliding down to sit down. With the guitar case propping him up, Vayne pulled out a small energy bar from his jacket's pocket. "I don't mean to pry mind you, but you two just don't seem to be the traveling pair…"

"… It's a long story," Miles replied as he took a seat on the grass across from Vayne.

"I'm not going anywhere," Vayne chuckled unwrapping the energy bar.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 7:14 p.m._

_Location: Route 307_

_Mt. Hayashi_

_Forest ???_

Meanwhile, in another part of the night covered woods, two familiar Team Atmos grunts were trudging through the forest, "Um… let's see, we took a left from there… and then we went North, so we should be…" Ikki stated holding up a map while Lena walked ahead of him.

"Ikki… just admit we're lost," Lena sighed pushing a lowered branch out of her way.

"We're not lost," Ikki replied stopping in his tracks to get a better look at the map. "I know exactly where we're at and…"

WHACK!

With the lowered branch snapping back, the blow immediately got the large Team Atmos Grunt directly in the gut, knocking the air out of him, "OOF!"

"You've been saying that ever since we lost sight of those two runts!" Lena snarled pulling her hair.

"Urk!" Ikki took a few steps back, still reeling from the branch hitting him in the gut. "W-well, it's not my fault they caught a ride with someone…"

"No, but if you hadn't tripped over your own shoelaces," Lena growled crossing her arms at Ikki. "We might've at least known where they were going!"

"Well excuse me," Ikki sighed lowering his arms, "But if you at least gave me two minutes to tie my shoes…"

"We would've lost the two brats before we got lost in the woods," Lena replied, almost wishing she never really joined Team Atmos in the first place.

"Well, even if we did," Ikki replied picking up the map and tapping it on his chest. "All we have to do is make it to Gardner City, and then we'd just have to wait for the two to get there… then we can get that girl back."

"Which would be a good plan," Lena admitted rubbing her forehead a few times. "…if we knew where the hell we were going in the first place!"

"Hey, with this map," Ikki chuckled opening the map to get his bearings back. "We'll find our way to Gardner City in," That's when the large Team Atmos member noticed something about the map and immediately closed it. "… Like I was saying, we'll get there in no time…"

"…okay, you paused," Lena moaned narrowing her eyes at Ikki. "What's wrong?"

"Um, well," Ikki started to, but stopped again to tap his fingers a few times.

"Ikki, you can either tell me now," Lena chuckled cracking her knuckles as she slowly approached Ikki. "Or I can beat the answer out of ya."

"Uh, o-okay," Ikki gulped before raising his hands up. "B-But you have to promise me that you won't get mad…"

Lena stopped for a second, her glare continuing as she managed to mumble from her clenched jaw, "… Fine."

"I, uh, I kinda held the map upside down," Ikki chuckled rubbing the back of his head, a large sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head.

WHAM!

"URK!" With a powerful kick slammed into his gut, Ikki was propelled to the ground with Lena still holding her foot up from a powerful roundhouse kick she just delivered. And as Ikki slowly lifted his head up from the ground, he saw that the female Team Atmos Grunt was heading his way. "W-What happened to n-not getting mad?"

"Oh, I'm not mad," Lena replied with a smile… but instead of a warm smile, it was one that was as cold as ice. "I'm just happy, and I'm showing you affection… now, let me show you how else I show affection…"

"N-NOOOOOOO!"

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 7:19_

_Location: Route 307_

_Forest near Mt. Hayashi_

_Mountain Spring – Campsite_

"…did you just hear something?" Miles asked stopping from his story to look around.

"Nope," Vayne simply replied crumpling the empty energy bar wrapper in his hands before placing it into his jacket's pocket. "So anyway, Kris was kidnapped by these guys wearing white uniforms, and this guy named Cruz suggested you and her travel? I got the gist of it, right?"

"Yeah," Miles answered turning to see Daigo run off with Lee's red scarf in its mouth while the young fighting pokemon began to give chase after it. Miles couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, but then turned back to Vayne. "But, I have no clue as to who those people were, and Cruz was an even bigger mystery, even if he did help me out."

"Hmm…" Vayne rubbed his chin with his hand, trying to think. "Cruz… Cruz… I feel like I've heard that name beforehand."

"Any idea who he is?" Miles asked raising an eyebrow.

"I think I remember my old man reading an article about a man named Cruz," Vayne replied, his face hardening at the words 'old man' but then returned to its joyful nature. "But, what it was about I don't remember…"

"Could he be criminal or something?" Miles mumbled to himself, but then shook his head. "But that wouldn't make sense… why would he help?"

With a shrug of his shoulders, Vayne crossed his arms as Daigo ran behind him, trying to hide from Lee who was looking for his scarf back. "Well, I wouldn't know, but anyway, I think I do know who attacked you… ever hear of Team Atmos?"

"Well, a few times when I was in Burgundy Town," Miles replied rubbing his chin, until something struck him. "Wait a minute, do they have the same uniform? Do they have purple cloaks with fangs on them?"

"What?" Vayne questioned, a little confused from the strange question. "… Not that I think of… after all, the only things I know about Team Atmos is that they're ones for trouble and what they wear as uniforms."

"Oh," Miles chuckled with a blush appearing on his face. "Sorry about that."

"Hey, no worries," Vayne replied taking a second to lean to the side to have Daigo jump over his guitar case with Lee right on his tail. "Heh, nice to see the two of them getting along together…"

_"-Get back here you little thief!-"_ Lee barked trying to get a little faster than the Mudkip, it was a puzzler how the mudfish pokemon was able to out run him.

"… yeah, swimmingly," Miles sighed before lowering his head. "So, you said that Team Atmos cause trouble? Like what kinds?"

"Eh, well," Vayne said pulling his shades down to look at Miles. "There are a few rumors as to what Team Atmos does. According to reports, they've been known to attack factories known for pollution in Saora, destroying them either by literally destroying the source of pollution or revealing corporate data. But other reports have them depicted as thieves for technological equipment…"

"Environmental Heroes or Thieving Menaces," Miles simplified.

Vayne nodded in response, "I guess you could call them either. I mean they're not really hurting anyone, at least not in the articles I read."

"You seem to know a little bit about them," Miles pointed out with a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"Well, when you grow up in Saora," Vayne explained lifting his arms up slightly. "You tend to learn a few things about what happens in the major cities. Anyway, this is the first I've ever heard of Team Atmos kidnapping someone… but from what you said, it couldn't be anyone else."

"So, where exactly do they stand?" Miles asked raising an eyebrow.

"Heh, sorry, but I wouldn't know," Vayne retorted. "You'd either have to ask their mysterious leader, or one of the three Admins that have been reported being seen."

"I'd rather not take my chances seeing them again," Miles replied.

"Good choice," Vayne chuckled. "But tell me… you mentioned those purple cloaks, may I ask why?"

"… You mean your dad didn't tell you?" Miles asked, blinking a few times.

"I don't like to keep communications with the old man except when I call my mom," Vayne replied, his face turning serious once again. "But now then, what does the old coot have to do with this anyway…"

"Well…" Miles started, getting ready to explain what had happened…

A few minutes later…

"…" Vayne had removed his glasses and turned to the side, after hearing what had happened, with Professor Pine bringing Lee's egg, how Miles and the other two starting trainers were attacked, and how Lee managed to save both Sealth and Phoenix. "… I see…"

"I apologize."

"Huh?" Miles asked.

"If it wasn't for my old man," Vayne spat to the side while casting a glance at Lee, who was currently waving his scarf in the air, finally getting it back. "And his research, then you wouldn't have dealt with that stuff…"

"True…" Miles stated, thinking that Vayne was right. "But still…"

_"-But then you wouldn't have met me!-"_ Lee shouted jumping onto Miles's head with a grin on his face.

"… oh yeah, having this pain would've made the experience all worthwhile," Miles sighed as Daigo slowly trotted over to Vayne.

Vayne couldn't help but chuckle at this statement, allowing his Mudkip to jump into his lap, "Well, at least you're making the best of the situation."

"… that's one way to look at it," Miles replied before taking notice that Vayne scooped up Daigo in his arms and stood up. "You going to bed or something?"

"Nah," Vayne chuckled pushing up his glassed with his free hand. "I just decided on something that's all…"

"Oh, and what would that be?" Miles asked raising an eyebrow.

Lifting his hand into the air for a few seconds, Vayne pointed his finger towards Miles, "I've decided you and I… we're going to battle!"

"… wait what?" Miles asked blinking a few times.

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Lee**: -_And the battle has begun!-_

**Miles**: _Seriously, where did this challenge come from?_

**Lee**: -_With his loyal sidekick, Miles, injured, the Great Fighter Lee stands up to take the challenge!-_

**Miles**: Injured? What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine?

**Lee**: _-Will the Great Fighter Lee be able to maneuver his way to victory? Or will the Splash of Defeat be his only reward?-_

**Miles**: Oh, sure, now you know what a splash is.

**Lee**: _-Next time, Ultimate Fighter Lee: Final Episode – The Great Splash! Will I avenge Miles? Find out next time!-_

**Miles**: …where do you learn these things?

**_Next time – Chapter 15: A New Style to Battle_**

**Miles**: At least its better than 'The Great Splash'.

**Edit:** 12/16/08 - Changed Asche Pine's name to Vayne Pine.


	15. Chapter 15: A New Style of Battle

_**Chapter 15**_

_**A New Style of Battle**_

_**0-0-0-0-0-0**_

_Vayne chuckled pushing up his glassed with his free hand. "I just decided on something that's all…"_

"_Oh, and what would that be?" Miles asked raising an eyebrow._

_Lifting his hand into the air for a few seconds, Vayne pointed his finger towards Miles, "I've decided you and I… we're going to battle!"  
_

"… _Wait what?" Miles asked blinking a few times._

"You heard me," Vayne commented wagging a finger at Miles before slamming his chest. "I want to fight against you… In a battle!"

"But… Why?" Miles asked slowly standing up with a question mark popping over his head. "Why now?"

"… Well… Why not?" Vayne retorted with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Don't just repeat what I essentially said!" Miles snapped back.

"-_Challenge accepted!-_" Lee announced as he leapt onto Miles' shoulder throwing his paws at Vayne and Daigo. "-_You're going to regret throwing that challenge at us!-_"

"… You be quiet," Miles growled narrowing his eyes at the Riolu before turning back to Vayne. "And where did this come from exactly? I think I deserve a proper explanation… at least from someone with a sensible mind."

"Ah right, you mentioned about that Cruz character, didn't ya?" Vayne sighed messing with the hair tail that was on his shoulder. "Well, I can give you a real answer… Let's say that this is a little payback."

"Payback? What the heck did I do to you?" Miles questioned with a question mark appearing over his head.

"Well, you tried to catch Daigo here," Vayne explained holing up his mudfish pokemon, who was nodding in agreement with his trainer. "And I don't think that giving me company for the evening counts as making up for it, because you know that the police usually frown about people trying to steal pokemon from other trainers."

Miles couldn't help but sweatdrop at the reasoning, "You're blackmailing me to battle you?"

"Blackmail is such a… Violent word," Vayne chuckled pushing some of his hair away from his sunglasses. "I prefer to, twist a few arms to get what I want."

"But that's more violent!" Miles pointed out with a blood vessel appearing on the side of his head. "Besides! I wasn't the guy who tried to catch your pokemon! That was the pain in the back; Lee was the cause for that!" 

"-_Yes, but you're the trainer,-_" Lee pointed out adjusting his red scarf. "-_And before he left, Cruz said to me that the trainer is responsible for anything his pokemon does!-_"

"Grr… How the hell do you…" Miles growled before he slapped his forehead. "Forget it! I give up! We'll battle…"

"Excellent!" Vayne announced before turning towards Kris's tent. "However, it'd be a problem if our battle were to awaken your lovely companion…"

"How many times are you going to bring that up?" Miles asked raising an eyebrow before shaking his head. "Again, forget it."

And yet Vayne just continued onwards, "Mainly because I feel she is the kind of girl who wouldn't think twice about bashing our heads in with my guitar case shaped backpack."

"I'll give that much," Miles sighed walking past Vayne with Lee climbing up his shoulders. "I saw a clearing not too far. As long as the fire doesn't go out, we should be able to get back as well…"

"Most excellent, Herr Miles," Vayne chuckled following the young headband wearing trainer.

"Wait, what'd you call me?" Miles asked as the two slowly disappeared into the dark woods.

As the two began to disappear, Kris's tent slowly unzipped, allowing it's owner to owner to pop her head out turning left and right, "About time those two idiots disappeared… Now I can finally get a chance to…"

Kris was unaware of the pair of glowing red eyes that seemed to watch her movements from the bushes…

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 8:01 p.m._

_Location: Route 307_

_Forest near Mt. Hayashi_

_????_

"Ugh… You know you sting more than a Beedrill, ya know?" Ikki moaned rubbing the newest bruises on his face (courtesy of Lena).

"Shut up! I don't want to hear you any more of your damn complaining!" Lena snapped, making the larger Team Atmos member step back shivering.

"… F-Fine…" Ikki muttered lowering his head. "… Why me?"

"SHUT UP!" Lena roared, making Ikki fall backwards in surprise. Lowering her head slightly, Lena allowed a small sigh to escape her lips. "Seriously though, what did I ever do to deserve this kind of treatment?"

"Perhaps maybe your fate was sealed when ya'll joined up with our glorious Team Atmos!"

Both Ikki and Lena jumped up to the side, taking note that they were not alone… Especially since there was a large glowing red visor looking right at them, "Now listen here pansies, ah had a favor to pay for that stupid Maxwell, that means ah had to leave my post from Gardner City to find you two idiots, so you better pay me respect… Or ah'll send ya'll up the river fast dan ya can say Daggummit!"

"T-That accent," Ikki gasped falling back on his behind. "N-No!"

Lena's eyes widened at Ikki's reaction as the red visor began to get closer and closer to the two. Sure, Lena could get the bigger guy to shiver like that, but when it came to other people, Ikki was actually quite the brute…

… So if this guy was able to make Ikki stumble backwards just because of his Southern accent, '_Who is this guy…'_

"Well, well, looks like we've got da dink tank from mah previous squad," The Southern accented man chuckled as he stepped into the remaining light, revealing his tanned skin with a white vest covering long sleeved baggy red shirt with the Atmos symbol on the chest. His black cargo pants had chains wrapped around the legs with six pokeballs clipped to them.

As the weird man rand a hand through his dark red hair, the visor on his developed face glowed a bright red to cover his eyes. "But ah have to admit, ah would've never expected ta see your sorry mug after ya caused dat fiasco in Bartel… ah still have dat damn wound at… W-Well, ah can't say where in front of a lady. Howdy ma'am."

"Uh… H-Hello," Lena replied with a sweatdrop, a little curious what had happened in Bartel.

"Ah'm sure ya'll heard all 'bout me," The Southern Atmos member chuckled standing in front of Lena, revealing that he was a big muscular man, even bigger than Ikki at what appeared to be a staggering seven feet tall of pure muscle. "Ah'm da Atmos Admin stationed at Gardn'r City…"

"L-L.T. Griff!" Ikki stuttered getting a devilish look from the Admin.

"L.T. Griff?!?" Lena gasped taking a step back from the large man. "The same Admin who was a part of the original Team Atmos?!"

"Heh… Da very same," Griff chuckled crossing his arms over his broad chest. "Maxwell called me up ta keep an eye on ya'll and make sure dat ya'll get da job done…"

"B-But sir, how'd you know we'd be out here?" Ikki asked, only to get a glare from Griff's visor.

Press a small button on his visor, Griff's visor lit up, showing several small words and maps, "… In order ta make sure a plan goes accordingly, ah make sure dat every single one of my soldiers is where dey need ta be. Just so happens dat da little genius here forgot to change his damn uniform dat has da GPS chip in it."

"… You tag your grunts?" Lena asked with a large sweatdrop rolling down the side of her head.

"Just da belt buckles and shoes," Griff replied crossing his arms as he sat down on the ground in front of the two Team Atmos Grunts. "So, enough 'bout me… It's time for ya'll to spill your guts about dis mission dat Maxwell deemed top priority in our message."

Ikki and Lena looked at each other for a second before turning back to Admin Griff.

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 8:05 p.m_

_Location: Route 307,_

_Forest Near Mt. Hayashi,_

_Clearing near the spring_

"This ought to do the trick," Miles stated lifting his hands up around the air with Lee jumping off his shoulders. "So, we can do your battle request here."

"Hmm… I don't know how I missed this place," Vayne admitted tilting his head to the side. "But I do have to admit, this place is rather secluded, how'd you find it?"

Miles just shrugged.

"-_Are going to chat? Or are we going to rumble?!-_" Lee barked pounding his chest with his paw a few times.

"Well, at least someone on your team is ready," Vayne chuckled petting Daigo's head, getting a small coo from the mudfish pokemon. Slowly Vayne walked past Miles towards the other side of the opening, a smile on his face as he pushed up his shades.

And then, the moment that Vayne stopped, the young man spun on his heel and pointed his hand towards Vayne, "Achtung! So, I hope you're ready for a real battle, Herr Miles!"

"… Why are you speaking German?" Miles asked raising an eyebrow.

"Just a little trait, Herr Miles," Vayne explained as Daigo leapt from his arms and onto the ground. "Whenever I battle, I speak a little bit of German. Just a little trait…"

"Well, as long as we don't begin with a coin toss," Miles admitted patting the other two pokeballs on the back of his belt, Jasmine's and Flay's pokeballs were still there. "I'm good for any kind of rules you've got."

"Ah, then let me ask you a question," Vayne stated reaching into his jacket. "How many pokemon do ya have? Since I'm guessing you've got a badge, you must have at least four."

"Uh… Actually three…" Miles replied with a small blush on his face as he pointed towards his Riolu. "Including this little guy…"

"-_Hey! I'm not little!-_" Lee shouted.

"Sorry to hear that then," Vayne stated pulling his hands back to reveal four more pokeballs. "You see, I've got five pokemon to my name! But since you've only got three… How about we just do three on three battles?"

"Whatever," Miles stated looking at Lee throw a few punches and kicks into the air. '_Lee's been getting a lot of experience lately… And since I'm still a little freaked out by Butterfree, I guess that leaves…'_

"-_Come on Miles! Send me…-"_ Lee shouted before he noticed that a pokeball went flying over his head. "-_Huh?-_"

"Come on out Flay!" Miles announced as the small Poochyena appeared on the field, looking around and blinking in confusion.

"_-W-What the hell?!-_" Lee shouted throwing his paw to the side.

"-_Whoa… What just happened here, dood?_-" the Poochyena questioned sitting down on the ground. "-_Did I just black out for a few hours, dood?-_"

Miles couldn't help but sweatdrop at his newest pokemon's attitude, '_… I've… I've got a surfer dude now? But he's a dark pokemon!'_

"Hmm… A standard pokemon, even for you, Herr Miles," Vayne chuckled pocketing all but one of the pokeballs he had, and tossed it up high into the air. "Good thing I've got just the match up! Go! Sandshrew!"

When the red and white orb bounced off of the top of the ground, it opened up to allow a small plated shrew pokemon with a yellow sheen on its fur. With a casual shrug, the shrew pokemon wagged its tail on the ground, "Sand!"

"… I have to admit that's a pretty cool looking pokemon," Miles stated rubbing the back of his head.

"Danke, but don't think for a second I'm going to let up!" Vayne shouted as he threw his fist forward. "Sandshrew! Start this off with Roll Out!"

Diving forward, the shrew pokemon began to roll forward at a decent speed towards the surprised Poochyena, "-_Dood!-_"

"Uh, what kinds of moves does a Poochyena know?" Miles mused rubbing his chin as Flay the Poochyena sweatdropped at his new trainer's personality. "I think he knows tackle and leer… But…"

But as Miles was thinking, his newest pokemon was immediately slammed into by the Sandshrew's rolling body, sending the puppy pokemon flying through the air, "-_Dood!-_"

"You best be paying attention, Herr Miles," Vayne chuckled shaking his head to have his blonde hair wave back and forth, getting Miles' attention as Flay crashed onto the ground. "Otherwise you'll be getting knocked down faster than I can comb my hair."

"… How fast do you comb your hair?" Miles asked raising an eyebrow at Vayne as Poochyena slowly began to get to his feet.

"Heh, I've got a unique style for combing my hair," Vayne replied as his Sandshrew spun around him a few times. "But this isn't the time for that… This is the time for an encore for the Rollout attack!"

"SAND!" The Sandshrew yelped before it spun towards Flay once more.

"-_Dood! What's going on here!?!-_" The confused Poochyena barked in confusion before he ran away from the rolling Sandshrew.

'_Maybe I should've talked to Flay before sent him out into battle,'_ Miles thought rubbing the side of his face before he shook his head. "Doesn't matter at the moment though… Flay! Tackle towards the base of that attack!"

However, the small Poochyena was more preoccupied with not getting rolled over by the spinning shrew pokemon that was getting closer and closer to him. "-_Someone help me, dood!-_"

"… He's not even listening," Miles moaned falling to the ground, lowering his head slightly. That's when he noticed that Lee was huffing to the side, "Hey Lee, you mind talking to Flay? Maybe talking some sense into him?"

"-_Humph!-_" Lee scoffed to the side.

"… Great…" Miles sighed loudly as Flay flew wildly through the air before he crashed into the ground in front of Miles. "… Even better…"

"-_Mommy, please stop the room from spinning… dood…-_ " Flay muttered before he slammed his head into the ground completely knocked out.

"Achtung!" Vayne laughed loudly as he, Daigo and Sandshrew leapt into the air with their arms thrown into the air. "Round one goes to us, Herr Miles!"

"Can you stop it with the Herr thing?" Miles asked calling back Flay back to his pokeball. "It's kinda getting annoying…"

"Nein!" Vayne replied rather quickly with Sandshrew returning back to his pokeball. "It's my thing Herr Miles, but, I'll do you a favor… I'll toss out the next pokemon! So come out…"

The pokeball opened up, allowing a small light purple furred monkey like pokemon bounce over the opened field on its longer tail that resembled that of a hand, and with a slight giggle, the monkey lifted its hands up to its mouth. "My Aipom, Juliet!"

"… Not really what I'd expect a monkey pokemon to be named," Miles admitted lifting up another pokeball.

"Always go for the unexpected," Vayne replied with a smile on his face.

"Well then… Go Jasmine!" Miles announced as the Butterfree appeared in front of him, flying slightly in the night's air.

"-_Hmmm,-_" Lee growled narrowing his eyes at the Butterfree.

"-_Um… Did I do something wrong?-_" Jasmine asked lowering her head slightly. "-_I-I'm sorry…-_"

"You didn't do a thing wrong, Jasmine," Miles sighed at his Butterfree's actions, were all of his pokemon going crazy? "Anyway, let's take the initiative! Butterfree! Tackle!" 

Unfortunately, just as the Butterfree was about to tackle into the smiling Aipom, the monkey pokemon bounced off of the ground, flying just over Jasmine with a bigger smile on her face. And that's when Vayne snapped his fingers loudly, "Achtung, Herr Miles! Juliet! Swift attack!"

Spinning around, the light purple monkey pokemon began to unleash hundreds of golden stars towards Jasmine who was slowly turning around.

"Tricks like that," Miles stated throwing his arm to the side. "Aren't going to work! Jasmine! Confusion!"

With her eyes glowing bright, a powerful blue aura erupted from the Butterfree's body, crashing into the stars just before they struck her. Then after a few seconds, the stars flew back towards the surprise Aipom, crashing into her body as she skidded towards Miles.

Vayne's eyes widened behind his shades before he closed his eyes in deep thought, "Guten, guten, Herr Miles… But this battle has just begun! We have yet to rock!"

"… Rock?" Miles questioned as Butterfree flew back in front of him. "… Are you trying to confuse me now?"

"Maybe…" Vayne chuckled pushing up his sunglasses.

It took a few seconds for it to sank in, but that's when Miles and Vayne began chuckling slightly, getting weird looks from the pokemon who were out. And when the two trainers broke out in a mild laugh, the pokemon couldn't help but sweatdrop.

"So, Herr Miles, enjoying the battle?" Vayne asked holding his hand up towards Miles.

"Actually, yeah," Miles sighed from the laughter adjusting his headband. "All the battles I've been having seemed to have some back motive to them. Rather it was a bet, or for a badge, or even for my life…"

'_What kind of battles have you been in?'_ Vayne thought cocking his head to the side slightly.

"But here, I feel like I can actually relax," Miles continued letting his headband snap back to his forehead. "… Although, I don't know why I'm feeling this…"

"It's a natural high Herr Miles," Vayne explained crossing his arms as he looked down at the Mudkip next to him. "You see… That's one of the perks of being a trainer; you can unite with your pokemon and feel the same feelings they have. The thrill of the battle is what some people call it, but I like to consider it as a natural high, battling with no downsides and no worries for major injuries…"

Throwing his fist up into the air, Vayne's smirk reappeared on his face, "Forced or not, trainers everyday experience this when they lock eyes! Their pokemon… No, their companions! Their family! Their nakama! They fight with everything they've got for the one who takes care of them!"

"Companions? Family?" Miles questioned blinking a few times.

"Juliet!" Vayne announced throwing his hand forward. "Fury Swipes!"

Miles' eyes widened as the small monkey pokemon leapt high into the air falling towards the surprised Butterfree. "Jasmine! Counter with tackle!"

Both pokemon headed for each other, Jasmine flying towards the falling Aipom, both moving at almost the same speed… But Juliet was faster, and began to scratch at the Butterfree's body, making the bug pokemon screech slightly in pain as it was brought to the ground. Miles' eyes widened as the Aipom leapt off of his Butterfree, "J-Jasmine?! Are you okay?" 

Lee turned his head back to the battle field, noticing that Butterfree's eyes were spinning.

"… Return," Miles sighed as Butterfree returned to her pokeball. "… Well, good battle…"

"… Herr Miles," Vayne chuckled returning Juliet to her pokeball as well. "… Who said we were done?"

"What?! But you have two wins and…" Miles started.

"But nothing!" Vayne shouted casually lifting his hand, making Daigo leap in front of him onto the field. "I said this would be a three on three battle! So, raise your head Herr Miles! Raise your head and fight with your companions, Herr Lee!"

"-_Whoa…-_" Lee muttered as he and Miles stood up at the same time. "-_…Now what?-_"

"… Lee…" Miles chuckled lowering himself to rub Lee's head a few times. "We're finishing this fight!"

A large smile appeared on Lee's face, and all of sudden, that resentment about not fighting first just disappeared, "-_… You got it, Miles! Let's show him how we really battle!-_"

A small smirk appeared on Vayne's face as he pushed up his sunglasses, '_I've lit the spark… Now, to make this small spark into a roaring forest fire!'_

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 8:16 p.m._

_Location: Route 307_

_Forest near Mt. Hayashi_

_????_

"… So let me git dis straight," Griff muttered lowering the small plate of instant curry he had made while listening to Lena and Ikki's story, the rest of the curry left in the pot that was pending over the fire he made. "Ya'll had Admin Maxwell's help to recapture a wee little gal, and ya'll still couldn't beat a snot nosed punk and a freak in an overcoat…

"… Ah'm ashamed ta see what became of the good ole' Atmos Team." 

"But… But…" Ikki stuttered, drooling slightly over the curry that Griff was finishing off.

"Enough!" Lena snarled getting a surprised look from Griff and Ikki. "Admin Griff! We apologize for failing and for you to come out all this way! However, please grant us your ability and resources to accomplish our mission!"

"Heh… Ah can't say no ta a lovely young gal," Griff laughed loudly rubbing the back of his red hair. "S'alright, Ikki's stupidity aside, ah'll be more dan able ta help ya'll out!"

"… Despite that accent and your status," Lena pointed out scratching the side of her face. "You're a nice guy Griff."

"… He's only like that around women," Ikki pointed out, not noticing the glare from the Admin's visor.

BAM!

"AAAH!" Ikki actually went flying through the air until he crashed into a large tree. "OW!"

Lowering his fist, Griff smiled at Lena, "After we peel da idiot off da tree, we'll be headin' ta Gardn'r City. We should be able ta get back ta the city by day break…"

"But the target's in the forest!" Lena protested with a surprised look on her face. "And at night we should be…"

"Lena was it?" Griff asked, standing up straight to show that he towered over her completely. "Ah know dat ya have a mission, but dis is a must in battle. Ya see, in da dark, we'd be in a disadvantage. Ah happen ta be a master of battle tactics and da first rule is ta not fight at night 'less ya know the terrain like da back of yar hand, or ya'll have some night vision goggles. Trust meh on dis."

"You should listen to him, ya know," Ikki stated rubbing his bruised face as he walked up behind Lena. "Like ya said, L.T. Griff has been with Team Atmos almost since it was founded, and he knows how to use every advantage, including how to use the day, the environment and even his opponents' strengths against them.

"That's why he's been dubbed L.T Dynamic Terra in the top three Admins."

"L.T. Dynamic Terra?" Lena asked blinking at Griff who slammed his fist onto his chest.

"You didn't know?" Griff asked in a-matter-fact voice as he pushed some of his hair out of the way of his visor. "Heh, dere are dree top admins dat work under da leader of Team Atmos. Among dose dree, each of dem has a special department that concedes to deir specialties and skills. Mine's go to land details, hence Dynamic Terra. And dat squint-eyed fancy pants, Maxwell, he's got da sky at his command as da Soothing Breeze."

"… Who chose those names?" Lena questioned with a sweatdrop rolling down the side of her head. "And who's the third admin?"

"Ta answer yar questions in order," Griff stated crossing his arms over his large chest. "Da leader gives da name… Ah just kept mine from da older days. And as for da dird, well, she goes by da name of Crashing Sea.

"Anymore questions ladies? Or can we get away from dis bug infested forest?"

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 8:29 p.m_

_Location: Route 307,_

_Forest Near Mt. Hayashi,_

_Clearing near the spring_

"Ha… Ha…"

"… Heh… Heh…"

"-_W-Wow…-_" Lee panted wiping some sweat from his forehead as the Mudkip shook the sweat and dirt off his head. "-_Th-These guys are outta this world!-_"

"Heh… Gotta hand it to ya, Herr Miles," Vayne chuckled pushing up his sunglasses. "You're just making this battle much, much more interesting! I haven't seen Daigo like this since the beginning of my journey!"

"And Lee hasn't listened to me so well since…" Miles stopped himself to think for a second. "Well… Since ever."

"-_Hey!-_"

"Well, I'm glad that something's come out of this," Vayne snickered throwing his hand up over Daigo. "But now, we should end this little battle shall we?"

"Yes! This next move," Miles replied snapping his fingers as Lee lifted his paws up.

Both Daigo and Lee charged as Vayne and Miles shouted at the same time, "Will decide the match!"

"Lee! Force…"

"Daigo! Water…"

"EEEEEEEKKKKKKK!"

That scream pierced through the night's air, making the two trainers and pokemon stop dead in their tracks.

Silence immediately followed as the two trainers looked to each other, with Miles having a sweatdrop roll down the side of his head, "Did that seem like it came from…"

"Yep," Vayne sighed as Mudkip jumped to his shoulder. "That was our campsite."

"Then shouldn't we go…" Miles started until he noticed something. "Hey… Where's Lee?"

"-_Lee to the rescue!-_"

Miles couldn't help but sweatdrop… and that droplet continued to grow as Vayne and Daigo began to chase after the small fighting pokemon. "Hey! Wait for me!"

A few minutes later, after ducking several branches and jumping over several bushes, Miles was finally caught up with Lee and Daigo at the bushes in front of their campsite… But Vayne was no where to be seen, "Hey! What's going on… here…?"

"GASP!"

Miles' eyes widened to the size of dinner plate at the spring's edge, immediately his face turned beat red at the sight. "K… K… K…"

Turning her bare back to Miles, Kris growled as she reached for something along the shore, "You… You… You…

"PERVERT!"

Miles' eyes widened just as a frying pan collided with his head, knocking the forced trainer immediately to the ground next to a dazed Vayne with broken sunglasses and a small stream of blood from his nose.

Meanwhile in the bushes, the owner of the two glowing eyes couldn't help but sweatdropped, '-_Man… I need to learn to be more careful of not stepping on twigs… I almost got caught.-'_

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 7:19 a.m._

_Location: Route 307,_

_Forest Near Mt. Hayashi,_

_Spring Area_

"… Was it really necessary to hit me with a skillet?" Miles asked rubbing the bandage where he was struck last night.

Kris had a large blush on her face as she tore into the muffin she was having for breakfast.

"Treed lightly Miles," Vayne suggested pushing up his spare pair of sunglasses before he sipped his orange juice, he stopped slightly because his mouth was slightly bruised from the boot he took last night. "You don't want to poke the bear."

"You better watch what you say too, fancy boy," Kris warned narrowing her eyes at the two boy trainers.

"I just don't see what the problem is," Miles stated with a shrug of his shoulders. "I can't say what Vayne saw, but all I saw was your back. And besides, we both have the same body build…"

"Miles, you may wanna stop while you're ahead," Vayne muttered slowly inching away from Miles.

Too bad Miles didn't hear him, "… So it's not like if we did see anything, we wouldn't get much."

"… Nice knowing ya Miles," Vayne sighed shaking his head.

"You… Little…" Kris snarled lifting her head up, revealing the demonic eyes that were glaring at the now scared Miles.

"-_Hey, do you know what's wrong with them?-_" Lee asked turning towards Daigo as he munched on a stolen energy bar, ignoring the yelps of pain and swearing that shattered the silence of the forest.

Daigo shrugged turning away from his drink, "-_… If I had to guess, this is somewhat of a mating ritual among humans… I've seen that scene in those weird picture books my trainer has in his guitar case. I think he calls them 'Manga'.-_"

"-_A mating ritual?-_" Lee questioned spitting out some of his stolen energy bar. "-_What makes you say that?-_"

"-_Well, you see,-_ " Daigo explained wagging his arm up slightly. "-_At the end of those series, the girl usually ended up in the arms of the guy who saw her in that state. I think it's called the Hot Spring Romance!-_"

"_-But the spring wasn't hot,-_" Lee pointed out with a question mark popping over his head.

"-_… Got me there…-_" Daigo replied with a shrug as he drank his water.

"… So, you guys," Miles coughed sitting up from the ground, crumpling the energy bar wrapper in his hands as he rubbed his newest black eye. "You ready to get to Gardner City?"

"Where'd this energy come from?" Kris asked, adjusting her hat.

Vayne couldn't help but smirk at Miles, and as he stood up, Vayne grabbed his guitar case, "Well then, would you two mind if I joined you for a while? At least until Gardner City?"

"Great, another headache," Kris growled standing up lifting a fist at the two boys, "Fine! But if either of you two try that stunt like last night…"

"W-We get the picture!" Miles and Vayne gulped at the same time lifting their arms up in the air.

But with a shake of his head, and allowing Lee to jump on his shoulder, Miles pointed his hand up into the air, "Anyway, we're off to Gardner City!"

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Lee:** -_Hmm…-_

**Daigo:**_ -What ya thinking about Lee?-_

**Lee:**_ -You got me interested in this Romance thing… Is it a kind of fighting technique?-_

**Vayne:** Oh, no, no, no! Romance is a beautiful thing! It's not meant to include fighting… Wait…

**Lee:** -_Whatever…-_

**Vayne:** Anyway! On his tour of love, the Grandmaster of Romance – Vayne Pine has acquired two new groupies to join him!

**Lee:** -_… What's a groupie?-_

**Vayne:** However, in the beauty of Gardner City… A dark diabolic plot has hatched in the midst of its grace…

_**Next time on Love Luv Serenade Paradise starring Vayne Pine – Final Episode: **__**Love Luv Paradise No More!?!**_

**Vayne:** … You don't want to miss it!

_**Next time: **__**Chapter 16: Darkness Among the Flowers**_


	16. Chapter 16: Darkness Among the Flowers

_**Chapter 16**_

_**Darkness Among the Flowers**_

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 12:25 p.m._

_Location: At the entrance of Gardner City_

It was just pass noon, the morning sun slowly beginning to make its descent towards the horizon, when a small old beaten up truck began to pull up to the entrance of Gardner City, three familiar teens riding in the back of the truck as it slowly came to stop. "Here ya go kids!"

Jumping from the back, Miles walked up to the driver's window, "Thanks for the lift too sir…"

"No worries," the driver replied turning away slightly to pull up Lee munching on a small sandwich. "But… You owe me a sandwich."

Pulling Lee from the driver's hands, Miles couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the starter pokemon, "Yeah… Sorry about that too sir…"

"Man!" Vayne yawned as he stretched his arms up high into the air standing on his toes. That's when he noticed that Kris was adjusting her cap on her head starring at something in the city. "Hmm? Something up?"

"Huh?" Kris snapped out of her small trance and turn towards Vayne. "Oh, no… I was just looking at this city…"

Vayne slowly looked towards Gardner City, compared to Burgundy Town and Serene Town, this city was definitely a lot more technologically advanced than the previous towns, with several tall buildings and apartment buildings lining the streets with...

"ACHOOO!"

Vayne and Kris turned towards Miles as the truck pulled away, "Dang it…"

"What's wrong with you?" Vayne asked raising an eyebrow at Miles who was walking towards the two.

"Sorry, I'm still a city boy…" Miles muttered rubbing his nose as Lee yawned on his shoulder. "I'm still not used to strong nature smells…"

"You were okay in the forest," Kris pointed out crossing her arms.

"What I'm referring to…" Miles coughed turning his head to the nearby entrance decorations, looking at all of the various flowers around the concrete. "Are the flowers… Too much of a scent for me… ACHOOO!"

"-_Gesundheit, Herr Miles,-_" Lee chuckled wagging his tail in the air.

'… _Great he took up Vayne's German speaking habits…'_ Miles thought rubbing his nose slightly.

"You sure it's not allergies?" Vayne asked pushing up his sunglasses.

"Trust me…" Miles sighed shaking his head slightly. "Just give me a few hours and I'll get used to it…"

"Well, I don't have that kind of time," Kris scoffed to the side before she turned away from the two teenaged boys and young fighting type pokemon. "I'm going to go find me a bus to take me to Domon City, thank you very much!"

"Not that I really care to listen to the overcoat freak," Miles pointed out, imagining Cruz standing behind him, cracking his knuckles slightly. "But didn't he say that we supposed to help each other get to Domon City?"

"And do you see him over your shoulder?" Kris replied waving a hand towards Miles. "So, the headache that was our little trip will not be missed… And neither will you guys. If we ever see each other again… Watch out!"

Miles, Lee and Vayne all blinked as Kris began to walk away, slowly disappearing into the depths of Gardner City. Personally, Miles shrugged his shoulders in relief. That was one less headache to deal with…

"Ah, don't you worry Miles," Vayne chuckled patting Miles on his free shoulder. "You'll find out that there's plenty of fish out in the sea for a guy like you!"

"-_Speaking of fish… I'm getting a little bit hungry,-_" Lee admitted rubbing his trim stomach.

Unfortunately Miles had two more headaches to deal with…

And these headaches weren't going to just disappear like that.

"So, since we've arrived at the city," Vayne announced holding his hand towards Gardner City. "The day has barely passed, and the night won't be upon us for hours! Let's paint this town gold and make a fun time for us both to enjoy!"

"… I thought you were only going to be with us till we got here?" Miles asked with a large sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head.

"Aw, you don't like me?" Vayne asked wiping away a fake tear with his hand while he held up his guitar case in the other. "And here I thought we were getting along as friends very well now…"

"W-We are!" Miles defended raising his hands up, almost getting Lee falling off of his shoulders. "I… I was just curious!"

"-_… Yeesh, way to act cool, dood,-_ " Lee pointed out with a large sweatdrop rolling down the side of his blue furred head.

"You be quiet!" Miles hissed before turning back to Vayne who had a large grin plastered all over his face. 

"Ah, I knew ya felt that way!" Vayne chuckled slapping his arm directly into Miles's back, making the forced trainer to stumble forward slightly.

"URK!" Miles spat out just before Vayne wrapped his arm around Miles and Lee's necks. "GAK!"

"So let's go find us a karaoke bar!" Vayne announced pumping his guitar case into the air a few times. "And we'll sing the night away!"

"W-What?!?" Miles coughed out with widened eyes. "NO!"

As the two trainers began to go deeper into Gardner City, a familiar white furred pokemon leapt out from the bushes, its red eyes watching the two promptly. "-_… It was a little difficult following that truck… But I suppose I shouldn't be complaining about this since Cruz asked this task of me…-_"

Taking a few whiffs into the air, the familiar white furred pokemon's red eyes widened before he snapped his head to the side, "-_This… This scent! I can't believe it, but can it actually be him?-_

"_-… But I thought he hated flowers?-_"

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 1:07 p.m._

_Location: Gardner City_

_Main Street,_

_Coffee Cup Café_

"I'll have a decaf latte," Kris sighed at the counter of the rather quaint café.

"It'll be only a minute and I'll bring it to your seat," The clerk cheerfully explained with a nod.

Pulling her hat down her head, Kris sulked to the closest table and sat down placing her backpack on the floor next to her seat. After she had left the two pains in the back, Kris's first action was to head to the bus station…

… Only to find out that the buses to Domon City were no longer allowed since a bullet train was going to be built from the two cities… And that wouldn't be for a couple of months till the train would be complete.

It was almost as if Kris was up against fate itself.

'_I don't have nearly enough funds to live in Gardner City for a few months,_' Kris thought looking around the wooden adorned café. And with a great sigh, Kris slammed her head into the coffee table, getting the attention of the only other customer in the café to look from his newspaper.

With a shake of his head, the man returned to his newspaper, "… Kids are so noisy now-a-days…"

"Here's your decaf latte, miss," The clerk stated placing the small cup of coffee on the table next to Kris.

"Thanks…" Kris sighed, not bothering to lift her head up from the table. '_… Looks like I'm stuck with that annoying Miles and his mutt… great…'_

DING!!

"… Coffee… Black… No sugar… No cream…"

"Coming up, sir!"

Turning her head to the side, Kris blinked at the newest customer of the Coffee Cup Café, his tall figure was hidden behind a beaten up brown trench coat that flapped through the air as he walked past Kris's table. Moving her eyes up slightly, Kris saw that the man looked to be in his mid-twenties, with greasy black hair that slid down his pointed and rugged tan face. He seemed to wear a pair of black slacks and a white button up shirt.

But as the man finally passed Kris, she was able to see that there was a strange emblem on the back of his trench coat. A circle that was in four parts, two parts white while the other two were black, but that emblem seemed to be clean, unlike the rest of his coat.

'… _Great sense of style seems to be lacking in the Saora region…'_ Kris thought before lifting her head up along with her latte.

"… You're late Vincent," The man with the newspaper stated, not moving his paper down as the trench coat wearing man (now dubbed Vincent) took a seat at the nearby table.

"Excuse me for being caught in traffic," Vincent scoffed to the side, pushing some of the greasy black hair from his face, only to have it fall back in front of him a few seconds later. "… So… What's the happenings in Gardner City?"

"… Shouldn't you be more concerned with finding 'him'?" The newspaper man commented raising his eye. "After all… The league's basically dead if no one can find him…"

"Eh, he could be at the bottom of Mistere Lake for all I care," Vincent grumbled as his coffee was placed on the table as he lifted up a bill. "Here, keep the change."

"Thank you sir!"

A large sweatdrop rolled down the side of Vincent's head as the clerk walked away, "… Sir?"

"You have to admit Vincent," the newspaper man chuckled finally pulling down his newspaper. "You are getting old in the years." 

"I don't need to hear that from someone older than me!" Vincent growled slamming his arm into the table, almost knocking the coffee cup over. "Ah! Crud!"

"Ha, ha, ha," The newspaper man laughed a tad bit louder, lifting up his own cup of coffee to his lips. "Ah… The bitterness can begin to taste sweet when you see another get served bitterness…"

"Oh just shut up," Vincent growled with a blood vessel appearing on the side of his face.

"As you wish," The newspaper man replied flipping pages of his newspaper. "But… that does mean that you won't be able to get any information that could be vital to your case… Or in your case, your cases…"

"… Real nice choice of words there," Vincent grumbled with a sip of his coffee before he downed it in one go. "Ahh! Alright… I'm sorry. So, what do you have on Team Atmos's plan here in Gardner City?"

Kris's eyes widened when she heard the Team's name, heck, it was the one thing that she even bothered to remember when Cruz took her shopping. That if she saw anyone dressed like those three that got her, Kris should hightail it right out of the area.

But… If these two were talking about the Team in Gardner City… Maybe Kris could at least figure out what their reasons were for kidnapping her in the first place.

So, leaning a little bit closer to the men, Kris sipped her coffee quite innocently.

"You do realize of course that with this new info, I'll have to charge you extra," The newspaper man chuckled evilly.

"Grk, whatever!" Vincent growled with a blood vessel appearing on the side of his neck. "Just get on with it!"

"You're fun to mess with, you know?"

Slapping his forehead, Vincent mumbled to himself about getting a new information contact… But for the moment, he would have to rely on Mr. Newspaper, "… Do I have to leave you to your coffee tab again?"

"Kill joy," the newspaper man sighed folding up the paper under his arm. "But, fine… It was only recently that Team Atmos came to Gardner City… Roughly around a month or so, if I can remember correctly."

"Great… An infected city," Vincent grumbled under his breath. "And the reason? This town doesn't have any pollution problems of the such… And there aren't any big businesses that could threaten that either…"

"… But there is still a threat," the newspaper man retorted wagging a finger at Vincent. "There have been numerous sightings of people dressed in purple and black cloaks and clothing, some of them stealing pokemon, others stealing important documents…"

"Yeesh, don't tell me there's another team…" Vincent growled narrowing his eyes.

"Calling it a team would actually be a compliment," the newspaper man replied crossing his arms. "Rumors say that it's actually an order, getting people to join for some reason or another, whether it's the blackmail, the offer of money or power… Hell, there's even a probability that some people were originally with Team Atmos and didn't really agree with the team's original idea or were looking for something more…"

"You got a name or something," Vincent asked raising an eyebrow, "Of this so-called 'order'?"

"But of course," the newspaper man started snapping his newspaper open again. "It's known as the…"

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 1:32 p.m._

_Location: Gardner City,_

_Main Street,_

_Karaoke Bar_

"Hey girl you know you drive me crazy!

"One look puts the rhythm in my hand!

"Still I'll never understand…Why you hang around… 

"I see what's going down!"

Miles sighed as he slammed his head down into the darkened Karaoke Bar that Vayne dragged him and Lee to…

… However this action went unnoticed since every customer and staff member were watching the very trainer that dragged Miles here sing that song, cheers from girls echoing through the room, and yet that didn't stop Vayne from continuing to sing. "Cover up with makeup in the mirror…

"Tell yourself it's never gonna happen again!

"You cry alone and then he swears loves yooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuu!"

"-_Hey Miles,-_" Lee stated poking Miles in the side of his head as Vayne continued the song of his choice.

"… What?" Miles groaned, turning his head towards Lee who held the can of soda that Vayne had order Miles.

"-_I was just wondering, why those girls are screaming at Vayne?-_" Lee asked raising an eyebrow before he took sip of the soda.

With another sigh, Miles sat back in his seat as he rubbed the top of Riolu's head, "Well… Lee… That's actually a question I don't really know the answer to. But if I had to guess, Vayne's singing is actually pretty good… And since he's been singing for a while now… Ugh…"

"-_… Humans are weird…-_" Lee muttered before returning to his soda.

Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the karaoke bar…

"Wow! This guy is good!"

"… Chase… If you so much as try to cheer for him, I'm gonna stuff my shoe down your throat."

"Yeesh Zane, what's got under your skin?"

In case you're wondering… Yeah, it's those two Venomous Fang Order grunts with the bad luck streak, only both of them were wearing black suits as to make sure that they didn't stand out in their Order uniforms. Zane's dark blue spiked down hair reached his shoulders and almost covered his small glasses over his sharp eyes while Chase's greasy brown hair slid back down his neck, clear of his thick face.

"… You get the feelin' we're being insulted?" Chase muttered turning his head left and right, ignoring the music that continued to flow through the karaoke bar's air.

"No… But I can hear your brain cells fizzling out from here," Zane retorted swirling his drink with his straw.

"Hey… Was that supposed to be an insult?" Chase asked tilting his head to the side.

"… Why do I even bother?" Zane sighed rolling his eyes. '_… I wonder… Would a jump from the top of this building kill me?'_

While thoughts of ending this miserable existence ran through Zane's head, another thought ran out of Chase's mouth, "So… Why exactly are we in a karaoke bar and why are we dressed like this?"

"… We're meeting one of our Admins," Zane answered pushing his drink to the side. "So, I would like it if you wouldn't do something embarrassing… So, don't say or do anything!"

Truth be told, Zane was rather nervous, if their leader was any indication of what the admins were supposed to be like… Zane just slapped his forehead at the thought.

"But… When we got here…" Chase muttered rather loudly, tapping his chin a few times. "We really didn't have an admin here… We just met with several other grunts like us, saying that they only received orders from their admin who was back at the main headquarters…"

"I know, I was there," Zane sighed rolling his eyes. "I was also there when we got orders to meet our admin here…"

"… And I'm surprised you two idiots managed to pull off such a simple order."

Both Zane and Chase turned their heads around, a familiar white haired young man wearing a pair of sunglasses that covered his eyes. Dressed in a dark purple suit, the young man sat at the table, slamming a briefcase on the table. "Gentlemen…"

"Hey… Aren't you…" Chase started, blinking a few times at the well dressed man.

"Yes," The white haired man sighed pushing up his sunglasses. "I am Turner… The Admin of the Venomous Fang Order's Gardner City branch… Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me, since I'm supposed to be the Admin to the main office, but then again, I work for the boss…"

"Uh… Sir?" Zane said waving his hand in front of Turner's face a few seconds.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," Turner coughed using his hands to cover the blush on his face. "I have a small tendency to complain about our ever crazy/idiotic leader… Ugh…"

"No worries! You should hear Zane's complaints about the admins," Chase chuckled with a large goofy grin appearing on his face.

"CHASE!?!" Zane snarled getting ready to leap out of his chair and strangle Chase.

"I can tell him, Zane," Chase chuckled again crossing his arms. "You see…"

"What the hell did I say before?!" Zane growled about to choke Chase…

"Submit it in writing," Turner replied darkly, making both Zane and Chase stop. Slowly, Turner opened up his brief case and immediately produced a small bottle that had what appeared to be small candies inside of it. "I assume you two have no clue what our plans are in Gardner City correct?"

"That's a given," Zane replied rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, this is what we're working on," Turner continued pointing towards the bottle.

"… What exactly am I looking at?" Zane asked raising an eyebrow.

Chase on the other hand, he was looking at something that was coming closer and closer to the trio of Venomous Fang Order members. '_Hmm? What's that?'_

Turner and Zane were unaware of Chase's gaze, especially when Turner pushed the bottle to the center of the table. "These happen to be the experiment that our scientists have developed… And these are the first batch of the fruit of our labors… The rare candies…"

"What? You mean we've got a way to mass produce rare candies?!" Zane gasped about to touch the bottle…

… Only to have Turner push the bottle in front of Chase, who was now looking down at the floor for some reason or another, "Mass production, not so much. We've found a way to create them yes, but there's a cost to creating them…"

"And how would this pertain to us?" Zane asked raising an eyebrow. "After all… We're only grunts and an Admin is telling us this information…"

"I'm surprised someone like you with such foresight is just a grunt," Turner complimented pulling down his sunglasses to take a glance at Zane with his cold eyes.

"Well, I did only just join and for the fact I'm paired with all brawn and no brains over here," Zane explained with a shrug of his shoulders towards Chase who seemed a bit more preoccupied with whatever was going on with the floor. "I feel like I'm going to be stuck as a grunt at least for a while…"

"What a waste," Turner chuckled flicking some of his hair from his face. "It would've been nice to have a decent conversation with another person…"

"… And as much as I would like to continue this decent conversation," Zane sighed, thoroughly enjoying talking to an intelligent person. "We have work to continue."

"How right you are," Turner replied crossing his arms over his chest. "The cost of manufacturing these rare candies is actually quite steep. You see, Admin Amadeus was the one to create this process, and through that, he discovered that there was a way to siphon off the levels of other pokemon."

"What? How in the world…" Zane muttered, not noticing that Chase's gaze momentarily shifted to the table and then back onto the floor.

"The how is confidential," Turner interrupted with an evil smirk appearing on his face. "But when the boss learned of this, he figured out that we were sitting on a goldmine since rare candies are often a rarity to trainers on the street. In addition, we can use these rare candies ourselves to improve our own pokemon."

"Heh, this is quite brilliant!" Zane cackled lifting his hands up slightly as the music began to die down. "Getting rich and becoming stronger… There's almost no downside to this!"

"… The cost," Turner brought up once more, making Zane blink a few times. "Unfortunately, according to Amadeus, to make one rare candy, there are certain requirements of the pokemon."

Lifting his hand up, Turner lifted his pointer finger, "Requirement one: The pokemon must be refined… Or in layman's terms, must be trained by an actual trainer."

With his middle finger going up against his pointer finger, Turner narrowed his eyes, "Second requirement: As you know, pokemon have levels that can be scanned in different ways. But, in order to create a rare candy, ten levels need to be siphoned from a single pokemon."

And holding up his third finger, Turner closed his eyes, "And the final requirement: The pokemon needs to be the natural evolution of that pokemon. Such as the first and second evolutions that leveled pokemon gain…"

Using his lifted up hand, Turner pushed up his sunglasses, "So, gentlemen… There are two missions for the Venomous Fang Order to accomplish while we inhabit Gardner City. The first… Capture any and all high level pokemon and transport them to our current base of operations here."

"Sweet, but what do we do after we drain the pokemon?" Zane asked raising an eyebrow.

"… We release them back to the original trainer," Turner replied. "We do not need to keep any pokemon we do not require. So we simply return them…"

"I see… And the second order?" Zane muttered with an evil smirk on his face.

"Unfortunately, that is on a need to know basis," Turner answered coldly. "When and if the time comes, that order will be given to all grunts."

"Understood," Zane replied.

"But for now, we'll have to get back to the base for preparations," Turner commented standing up from his seat, his right hand reaching for the bottle of rare candies. "As you could tell, our agents were already at hard work to obtain those pokemon to siphon those rare candies, and that bottle contains all our hard work… So, we must…"

That's when something caught Turner's attention, when the fact that his hand didn't grasp anything but air…

… The bottle was gone!!!

"WHAT THE??!?" Turner screeched out, getting a few stares from the other customers. Noticing this, Turner waved his hands up slightly, coming up with a decent excuse, "N-No worries, I just dropped my drink on my suit… That's all!"

With the crowds turning away from him, Turner slammed his hands into the table right in front of Chase, "Grunt Chase! Where the hell did it go?!"

"Huh?" Chase muttered, snapping out of his stupor. "Where did what go?"

"The bottle!" Turner snarled slapping his hands to his hair. "The bottle that held onto all of our hard created Rare Candies!"

"Oh! That!" Chase announced with a goofy grin on his face. "Yeah, that's gone."

Turner and Zane began to pull their hair from their roots, and with a little self control, Turner resisted the urge to rip his hair out, "Well… Where did it go then?!"

Meanwhile, outside the karaoke bar, and onto the streets…

"Ha, ha! That was fun!" Vayne laughed loudly throwing his arm high into the air.

Ceasing to sip his last minute orange soda, Miles rolled his eyes at Vayne, "Yes… But did you have to sing seven songs in a row?"

"I can't help it that the ladies love me," Vayne chuckled flapping some of his hair from his face as he lifted his guitar case over his shoulder.

"Yeesh, a guy who thinks he's god's gift to women," Miles sighed as he began to lift his soda up to his lips… Until he realized something on the ground. "… Lee… What the hell do you have there?"

The small Riolu sheepishly smirked realizing that he was finally caught, his arms carrying a bottle that easily dwarfed his small torso. "-_… Uh… I don't see anything…-_ "

"Lee! You stole something again!" Miles groaned with a slap to his forehead.

"-_Uh… No?-_" Lee replied blinking slightly.

"Yes you did!" Miles retorted lowering his head slightly.

By the end of this journey, Miles was sure that he was going to have a tumor appear in his head.

"Hmm… What do we have here anyway?" Vayne questioned kneeling down to the ground, leaning towards Lee with his sunglasses covered eyes aimed towards the bottle. "… Hmm… I'm not an expert… But that looks like a large amount of rare candies…"

"Huh… Now that you mention it," Miles admitted, remembering his first encounter with Cruz, and how the weird overcoat dressed man had given Miles those rare candies before his battle with Team Atmos.

"Hey Miles…" Vayne chuckled evilly as a glint of light reflected off of his glasses. "What do you say we use this little gift that Lee gave us… There must be at least fifty rare candies here! Twenty-five for the two of us to spilt!"

"…" Miles just adjusted his headband.

"Ha!" Vayne cackled standing up straight. "Awe come on, it's not like we're hurting anyone…"

"-_I like the idea…-_" Lee sheepishly chuckled placing the bottle on the ground, to tap his chest a few times with his paw.

With a loud sigh, Miles merely picked up the bottle and held it into his hands.

Smiling greatly, Vayne slid behind Miles, placing his free hand on Miles's shoulder, "Ah, don't worry Miles… I listened my old man enough to know right from wrong… And, as much as this is a lost opportunity, we'll return this to its owner."

"At least you have some good morale," Miles commented rolling his eyes before he narrowed them towards the now slightly scared blue fox-like pokemon. "… Unlike some guys I know. Alright Lee… I wanna know, and I want the truth, where did you get this bottle?"

"-_… I don't remember…-_" Lee answered turning his head to the side.

Taking a deep breath, Miles fought the urge to strangle his starter pokemon.

"… I take it that Lee didn't know where he got it?" Vayne guessed… Hey, he couldn't understand what the little Riolu said.

"P-Pretty much," Miles growled before taking a sip of his orange soda.

"No worries…" Vayne chuckled stepping in front of Miles, turning around on his heels with his free hand lifted up. "If we want to find someone who lost these rare candies… We'll just head to the Pokemon Center. Besides, we needed to head there anyway since he didn't in the first place."

"… Ya know," Miles started raising an eyebrow at Vayne. "We probably would've avoided this problem if you didn't feel the need to showboat in front of girls…"

"Why don't you tell me to stop breathing, while you're at it?" Vayne retorted before walking down the street, leading Miles and Lee towards the Pokemon center.

And just as the trio turned the corner, the three Venomous Fang Order members all ran out of the Karaoke Bar, Zane and Turner getting ready to strangle the larger Chase.

"So… Let me get this straight…" Turner growled, his sunglasses sliding down his nose as he glared at the Venomous Fang Order Grunt. "… A small blue fox like pokemon wearing a red scarf came rushing up to our table, climbed up your body like a skyscraper, sniffed the bottle, and then takes it?"

"Yep," Chase answered with a satisfied grin on his face.

"And you didn't do a thing to stop it?" Zane snarled lifting his arms up.

"Yep!" Chase announced, the grin on his face growing by the second.

"WHY!?!" Zane and Turner shouted at the same time, and yet Chase didn't seemed fazed at all by their yelling.

"… Cause Zane told me not to do anything," Chase calmly answered.

Turner's eyes widened, and then focused on a surprised Zane…

"… I'll kill you two later…" Turner snarled with his eyes immediately engulfed in flames. "Right now… We need to find those rare candies!

"AT… ANY… COST!"

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Lee:** -_Thanks to the masterful skills of the lean, mean, fighting machine – Lee – the group now stumbles upon an evil plot!-_

**Miles:** That last line has so many things wrong with it… I don't even know where to begin…

**Lee:** -_Then allow me to continue! Next time, we find the results of the devilish group's sinister plot!_-

**Miles:** … Should I even bother?

**Lee:** -_Next time on Lee's Super Smash Fighters Brawl! Final episode – __**2K Claws! Lee's Desperation!**__ You don't want to miss it! -_

**Next chapter: **_**Chapter 17: Darkness Among the Flowers (Part 2)**_


	17. Chapter 17: Darkness Among the Flowers 2

_**Chapter 17**_

_**Darkness Among the Flowers (Part 2)**_

_**0-0-0-0**_

_And just as the trio turned the corner, the three Venomous Fang Order members all ran out of the Karaoke Bar, Zane and Turner getting ready to strangle the larger Chase. _

"_So… Let me get this straight…" Turner growled, his sunglasses sliding down his nose as he glared at the Venomous Fang Order Grunt. "… A small blue fox like pokemon wearing a red scarf came rushing up to our table, climbed up your body like a skyscraper, sniffed the bottle, and then takes it?"_

"_Yep," Chase answered with a satisfied grin on his face._

"_And you didn't do a thing to stop it?" Zane snarled lifting his arms up._

"_Yep!" Chase announced, the grin on his face growing by the second._

"_WHY!?!" Zane and Turner shouted at the same time, and yet Chase didn't seemed fazed at all by their yelling._

"… _Cause Zane told me not to do anything," Chase calmly answered._

_Turner's eyes widened, and then focused on a surprised Zane…_

"… _I'll kill you two later…" Turner snarled with his eyes immediately engulfed in flames. "Right now… We need to find those rare candies!_

"_AT… ANY… COST!"_

**0-0-0-0**

"-_ACHOOO!-_"

"Careful!" Miles yelped grabbing the small bottle of Rare Candies from the blue fox like pokemon. "Yeesh, you're more trouble than you're worth…"

"-_Aw…_-" Lee chuckled leaping back onto Miles's shoulders, making a reach for the bottle. "_-Ya know you love me!-_"

"Like an ulcer," Miles remarked rubbing his temples with his free hand. '_Which might not be too far off from now…'_

As Miles and Lee continued to argue amongst each other, Vayne calmly followed the two through the streets of Gardner City, their goal – The local Pokemon Center in order to turn in the bottle of Rare Candies that Lee had 'borrowed'.

But Vayne just watched the trainer and beginner pokemon, his curiousity growing every time Miles would speak to the fighting type pokemon and the Riolu would bark right back… Almost as if the two were having a serious conversation.

"Hmm… Very interesting," Vayne muttered keeping an eye on his friend and his beginning pokemon.

"What's interesting?" Miles asked, unaware that Lee had snatched the bottle from his hand.

"Oh, nothing much," Vayne chuckled with a shrug of his shoulders.

"… You just love to confuse people don't you?" Miles groaned not noticing that Lee had opened the bottle of rare candies, his tail wagging greatly.

"Hmm, not really," Vayne chuckled adjusting his shades. "I just like to confuse you Miles… You're fun to tease."

"Argh…" Miles growled with a slap to his forehead.

"_-Jackpot!-_"

A few question marks popped over Miles and Vayne's heads when the excited bark filled the streets. And slowly, the two trainers turned towards the source, seeing Lee chowing-down on a few of the rare candies. "ACK!" Miles yelped. "LEE!"

"Oh my," Vayne snickered as Miles charged at his starter pokemon. "You ever think about buying a leash for him?"

"You try finding a store that sells pokemon leashes!" Miles retorted snatching the bottle (which was now slightly emptied thanks to his little troublemaker). "And you!"

Lee swallowed the two rare candies that he managed to stuff into his maw before his trainer grabbed the bottle away from the fighting pokemon. "Stop doing that!"

"_-Aw… But they're so tasty!-_" Lee retorted with stars appearing in his eyes. "_-At least let me have a few more! At least one more for the road!-_"

"NO!" Miles snapped loudly.

Meanwhile… In an alleyway near the karaoke club…

"Okay," Turner scoffed shuffling around in his briefcase, looking for a few things. "Now, here's the mission you two idiots.

"One, find that stupid little blue fox pokemon that stole the damn rare candies!"

"How many times can a person say sorry?!" Chase yelped, trying to ignore the glares from Zane and Turner.

"You can apologize till doom's day," Zane growled kneeling next to Turner. "And what's the other part of the mission?"

That's when Turner pulled out something that made Chase and even Zane jump back slightly…

"The second thing were doing, is going to make this day nothing more than a little dream," Turner growled standing up to reveal a small pistol that had a silencer on the barrel.

"S-Sir?!" Zane muttered at the gun. "A-Are you actually suggesting that…"

"What's wrong with you two?" Turner growled tossing the gun to Chase, who caught it gingerly as to not have the firearm go off. "It's like you've never seen a Venomous Fang Order's Tranquillizer gun."

"Oh! A tranquilizer!" Zane laughed out nervously as Turner handed a copy of the small non-lethal gun to him. "Ah… But… Why do we need these?" 

Chase was trying to figure if the safety was on as Turner snapped the briefcase shut, holding up his own gun. "Because, if we start a battle, we'll create a large commotion, and frankly with the amount of time we have…"

BANG!

"ACK!" Turner yelped, dropping the briefcase and the tranquillizer gun to the ground, his hands snapping to his backside. "What the?!"

Chase tossed the slightly smoking tranquilizer gun to the side, whistling off beat in order to make himself seem innocent.

"You idiot!" Turner roared stomping towards Chase. "Do you realize… that… you… ah…"

And with that, Turner fell face first into the alleyway's ground, a loud smacking sound echoing between the buildings – Followed directly by loud snoring.

"Wow, I thought that tranquilizers only worked that fast in video games and movies," Chase admitted kicking Turner's foot a few times, making sure that the admin was completely asleep. "What kind of stuff is the order working on?"

"You dolt!" Zane roared, making Chase stumble backwards. "Do you realize what you just did!?"

"Uh…" Chase muttered, drifting off in the conversation. "… No?"

"ARGH!"

"WHOA! PUT DOWN THE TRASHCAN ZANE!!!"

**0-0-0-0-0**

_Time: 2:00 p.m._

_Location: Gardner City Pokemon Center,_

_Gardner City_

"That took a while," Miles sighed standing in front of the doors of the plant adorned pokemon center. "And if I knew that the Center could look like this… I probably would've kept walking to the next town."

"I dunno," Vayne stated leaning up against the nearby wall. "I find it to be charming."

"That's just you," Miles sighed holding the bottle of Rare Candies away from the jumping Lee at his side. "I can't stand flowers, their smell, their appearance… Man, I thought a place with city in its title wouldn't be so… So… so…

"Pretty?" Vayne suggested pushing up his shades.

"Not what I was going for," Miles admitted trying to stop Lee from crawling up his shorts. "Knock it off!"

"-_I found them! Finder's keepers!-_" Lee protested before Miles flicked the small fighting pokemon's forehead, sending him to the ground. "_-ACK!-_"

'_How in the world does he learn this stuff?'_ Miles thought about to make a reach for the door's handle.

WHAM!

"URK!" Miles yelped as the door slammed into his face, sending him and the bottle of Rare Candies to the ground. "AH! MY NOSE!"

With this development, Lee jumped up and grabbed the bottle with a large grin on his face, "_-Doors: Two. Miles: Zero! And Lee with the catch!-_"

While Miles was holding his nose and Lee was lifting up his reclaimed treasure, Vayne couldn't help but notice that the people who had opened the door were all dressed in a dark blue uniform, and didn't even seem to notice that they slammed the door into Miles's face.

But Vayne knew the uniforms, you'd have to be a complete dunce to not recognize a police uniform, '_Hmm… Weird, not every day you'd see the Saora police storm out of a Pokemon center…'_

"Geez!" Miles moaned rubbing his nose. "Why did this happen again?!"

"Well, certainly not because you just stood in front of the door for three minutes straight," Vayne pointed out with a snicker. "You okay by the way?" 

"Besides from a sore face," Miles groaned standing up while he dusted off his clothing. "Nothing's broken…"

Miles's eyes widened as he dusted the back of his jacket, realizing that the two pokeballs that contained Flay and Jasmine were now gone, "AAH!"

"Hmm?" Vayne questioned pulling his sunglasses down slightly. "What's wrong?"

Miles didn't answer, rather he just looked around – Lee and the bottle that had the Rare Candies were gone. '_… Figures…'_ He thought adjusting his headband. "Vayne, you go ahead and go inside. I've got a little runt of a thief to find…"

Blinking a few times behind his shades, Vayne just watched his traveling companion run towards the side of the Pokemon Center. But shrugging it off, Vayne just began to walk into the Center…

… Making the young trainer lower his sunglasses at the sight inside the center.

It was almost pure chaos! Trainers of all ages, sizes and from towns all over Saora were inside, all of them yelling about something while they held pokemon (there were too many for Vayne to name) – But, there were all the basic pokemon, no evolved forms.

'_I knew that trainers tended to get over excited when their pokemon got hurt,'_ Vayne thought as he strolled into the center, keeping his eyes searching about the building, taking note that no matter where he looked…

… Trainers were complaining or arguing…

And somehow, by some miracle, Vayne managed to dodge the enraged trainers and make it to the counter – Taking note of how stressed the Nurse Joy was looking, her hair a complete mess and her eyes showing the deprivation of sleep that must've plagued her.

After a few seconds of starring at each other, Vayne finally spoke up, "Uh… hello?"

"What do you want?" Joy grumbled… obviously not living up to the name that was passed through the nurses of the world. "Here to complain about your pokemon too?"

"No, not really," Flay replied holding up the five balls. "I just want mine to be healed."

"… Finally, a simple request," Joy sighed taking the balls from Vayne. "Name?"

Pushing up his glasses, Vayne smiled, "Vayne Pine."

"I'll call you when they're done," Joy stated.

And with that, Vayne turned away from the counter, sidestepping the arguing trainers that were circulating through the center. "… Hmm… Makes a person wonder, what in the world is going on in Gardner City…"

"Well, maybe I can shed some light on that." 

Vayne merely brushed his hair to the side, turning his eyes to see a familiar face seated on an oddly emptied couch, sipping on a cup of coffee.

"You know that coffee will stunt your growth," Vayne chuckled removing his glasses. "You know that right, Kris?"

"I've been drinking coffee since I've been little," The tomboy growled before sipping on her latte. "Besides, it's decaf."

"Still, I thought you were looking for a bus," Vayne stated taking a seat next to Kris, setting his guitar case/suitcase at the side of the couch. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Buses are no longer going to Domon City," Kris snarled crumpling the empty cup of coffee in her hands. "At least not directly from here in Gardner City."

"Well… That sucks," Vayne chuckled…

Which earned him a swift jab in the arm from Kris. "OW!"

"You're not making the situation any better," Kris spat out throwing her arms behind her head.

Rubbing his arm, Vayne coughed slightly, "So, you know what's going on with all the commotion?"

"… It's weird," Kris sighed, remembering back to the coffee house and what she had heard from the two men who were in there.

Of course, the talk was more concerned with Team Atmos's so-called rival – But there was something in the conversation that she caught before the man named Vincent had to leave. "Uh, but anyway, you see, about a week or two ago, a lot of trainer's pokemon went missing. Of course, there was something in common about the stolen pokemon."

"Hmm… This is starting to sound like a mystery novel," Vayne chuckled adjusting his sunglasses. "Keep going. What was the common factor?"

"… The stolen pokemon were all evolved," Kris answered turning left and right, making sure none of the other trainers were paying attention. "And it was the regular evolution, through the leveling process."

"Man, this is starting to remind me of my old man's lectures," Vayne muttered under his breath. "Ah, but please, do continue."

"Anyway, the stolen pokemon were reported," Kris continued. "But a few hours ago, several pre-evolved pokemon just walked up to the trainers… And when their ID numbers were ran in the computers, they were the stolen pokemon."

"That's… Weird," Vayne admitted blinking a few times behind his sunglasses.

"Speaking of weird," Kris sighed. "Where's that weird guy and his yapping pup?"

"Miles?" Vayne guessed getting a nod from Kris to confirm his guess. "He's outside, Lee pulled another prank on someone… Stole a large bottle of what appeared to be rare candies in it."

Kris's eyes widened slightly, as she recalled some more of Vincent's conversation. "R-Rare candies? Are you sure?"

"Yeah… Why?" Vayne questioned raising an eyebrow.

"I think… I think that weirdo might be in trouble," Kris stated.

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

Meanwhile, in an alleyway a block away from the Pokemon Center, a certain trio of pokemon were circled around a certain bottle that was certainly filled with certain rare candies that were certainly stolen.

"-_So… What are we looking at, dood?-_" Flay the Poochyena questioned sniffing some of the rare candies that Lee had laid out in front of his companion.

"-_I… I remember these,-_" Jasmine stuttered looking at the rare candies that she had in her small hands. "_-T-That nice man gave us these a-and they made me…-_"

"-_Correcto-mundo!-_" Lee announced popping another Rare Candy in his mouth. "-_And they taste pretty good! So, let's have our fill and…-_"

Lee raised an eyebrow at the sight of the looks that just crept of Flay and Jasmine's faces, both of them petrified with fear. "-_What's the matter with you two?-_"

"-_A… A demon… Dood!-_" Flay yelped placing his paws over his eyes.

"-_What's a demon?-_" Lee asked, unaware of the demonic form that stepped behind him… with a messy head of brown hair and a denim jacket.

WHAM!

"-_ACK!!-_" Lee yelped as he fell face first into the cold ground, a large bump appearing on the back of his head.

"Lee…" the demonic form growled... A wicked scowl appearing on its face.

"-_Eeh?-_" Lee muttered spinning around to look face first at the demon. "-_W-What?!?-_"

"Why…" The Demonic form snarled with its' eyes narrowing down at him. "Why do you constantly try to annoy me?!"

"-_W-Wait a sec!-_" Lee pleaded with his paws held up in front of him. "-_C-Can't we talk about this?-_"

"NO!"

And with that… A red streak of light erupted from the demonic Miles's hand and recalled Lee back into his pokeball. "Now then… Either of you two want to try something like that?!"

Jasmine and Flay immediately shook their heads, making Miles return to his normal looking self with a still annoyed look plastered on his face. "… Thankfully, you two have some common sense," He sighed as he knelt down in front of the bottle, making his two other pokemon sigh in relief. "But still, did you two have any of these?"

"-_A few dood,-_ " Flay barked pushing the ones he didn't eat towards Miles with his nose. "-_I'm still trying to get used to being a pokemon under command… So you'll have to forgive me, dood.-_"

"-_I… I'm so sorry!-_" Jasmine squeaked with her beautiful wings folding over her eyes.

"Don't apologize," Miles sighed fitting the rare candies back into the bottle. "I kinda figure that Lee's nothing more than a bad influence on…"

WHAP!! 

"What the hell are you doing?! Don't just drop him!"

"Well excuse me! He's heavier than he looks!"

Turning to the end of the alleyway, Miles saw the finely dressed Chase and Zane arguing over a snoozing Turner, who was actually snoring rather loudly. Miles raised his eyebrows at the two's voices. '_I… I think I remember those voices!'_

"Look," Zane sighed with a slap to his head. "Do you at least know what kind of pokemon took the damn bottle?!"

Miles's eyes widened as he hid the bottle behind his back and slowly began to walk backwards making Jasmine and Flay follow him.

"I told you!" Chase moaned rubbing the back of his head. "It was blue, it was fox like that stood on it's hind legs with black fur around its red eyes, wore a red scarf around it's neck and was really athletic!"

'_Crud!'_ Miles screamed in his head, realizing that the man had just described Lee precisely.

"… Wait…" Zane muttered with his eyes widening. "Remember I told you about our last mission?"

"About how you got your tail handed to you by that rookie?" Chase chuckled, only to receive a punch to the gut. "OUMPH!"

"… Grrr… Yes," Zane snarled cracking his knuckles.

"W-Why did you just hit me then?" Chase sputtered raising his head.

"I felt like doing it," Zane answered pinching the bridge of his nose. "But anyway, the pokemon you just described… It was a Riolu. And as we both know, Riolu aren't native to the Saora region, and as you pointed out, we both know of one Riolu. Albeit it has bad fashion sense, but still the odds are the same."

"You thinking that the kid we chased might've something to do with this?" Chase suggested.

"It's not probable," Zane admitted. "But it's possible."

'_Damn it!'_ Miles screamed in his head as he continued to slowly walk backwards through the alleyway. '_W-Well… They haven't noticed me yet. If I can only get out of here without drawing attention to myself I might just be…'_

Too bad there was a large flaw in that plan…

"_-HEY! Who are you saying has bad fashion sense!?!-_"

'_LLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!'_

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Lee: **_-What's the big idea?! I've got plenty of fashion sense!-_

**Miles:** Lee… I'm going to kill you…

**Lee:** -_Not if these guys get to you first!-_

**Miles:** Just shut up and run! 

**Zane and Chase: **Get'em!

_**Luck just keeps getting worse and worse for Miles, and find out what happens next time – **__**Chapter 18: Darkness Among the Flowers (Part 3)**_


	18. Chapter 18: Darkness Among the Flowers 3

**Chapter 18**

**Darkness Among the Flowers **

**(Part 3)**

_**0-0-0-0**_

"_W-Why did you just hit me then?" Chase sputtered raising his head. _

"_I felt like doing it," Zane answered pinching the bridge of his nose. "But anyway, the pokemon you just described… It was a Riolu. And as we both know, Riolu aren't native to the Saora region, and as you pointed out, we both know of one Riolu. Albeit it has bad fashion sense, but still the odds are the same."_

"_You thinking that the kid we chased might've something to do with this?" Chase suggested._

"_It's not probable," Zane admitted. "But it's possible."_

'_Damn it!' Miles screamed in his head as he continued to slowly walk backwards through the alleyway. 'W-Well… They haven't noticed me yet. If I can only get out of here without drawing attention to myself I might just be…'_

_Too bad there was a large flaw in that plan…_

"_-HEY! Who are you saying has bad fashion sense!?!-"_

'_LLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!'_

Miles scooped Lee in his arms and prayed to whatever deity or at the very least a local legendary pokemon that those two didn't hear his little pain in the tail…

"Well, well, well…" Zane chuckled as he and Chase slowly walked into the alleyway, Zane walking in first since Chase was more than twice Zane's size and would obvious get the two stuck if they walked in at the same time. "Look what we've got here… I never thought I'd see you again."

'_Sonva-!'_ Miles screamed in his head as he stepped back, whispering to the small pup pokemon. "Listen… Just shut up, and let me do the talking here…"

"-_Hey! Don't tell me to…-_" Lee started until Miles wrapped his hand around Lee's mouth. "GRK!"

"Um… D-Do I know you two?" Miles chuckled sheepishly, continuing to back away from the on coming dunces.

"Yeah… Do we know this kid?" Chase asked before he got slapped upside the head. "OW!"

"Oh come on!" Zane growled rubbing his fist. "Don't you remember the mission in Serene Town? It was because of this punk that we were forced to work here in this girlie city!"

"Oh yeah…" Chase mumbled as he nursed his chin. "And I think that the little pokemon he had…"

"Wait, what do you mean 'had'?" Zane asked raising an eyebrow.

"Cause the little guy is running," Chase pointed out.

Zane turned around and saw that Miles was running through the alleyway, Lee tucked under his arm. "What the?!"

"Should we go after him?" Chase asked blinking a few times.

"No, we should got get smoothies," Zane grumbled with sarcasm dripping from his tongue. "And forget all about this runt."

"Alright! I've been hankering for a wheat grass smoothie for hours!" Chase cheered with a great smile on his face. "I'll go pull Turner's wallet and it'll be on his dime!"

Just as Chase was about to pull his announcement, Zane latched onto his earlobe and dragged Chase right back to Zane. "Remind me to teach you about sarcasm when this is over with," Zane moaned with a roll of his eyes. "Now, go grab Turner, I'll be going after the runt!

"And if you even think about going off and buying a smoothie instead of following me, oh, you'll have to start praying to Kyroge!"

Chase gulped.

**0-0-0-0**

_Time: 2:06 P.M._

_Location: Gardner City,_

_Gardner City Park,_

_Fountain Area_

After having his team healed, Vayne had left his items in a spare room in the Pokemon Center and continued with Kris.

"So, do you actually want to find Miles?" Vayne asked with his arms behind his head.

"No," Kris answered, turning on her heel to glare at Vayne. "But the guy's so hopeless that he needs any help that he can get. And unfortunately, you and I are the only two that know that the knucklehead could actually be in trouble."

"Hmm… You certainly seem like you know him a lot," Vayne pointed out with a sly look appearing under his glasses. "How long have you two been traveling together?"

"Two… Three days," Kris guessed with her arms crossed towards Vayne. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Cause you seem to know a lot about him," Vayne stated pulling his shades down slightly to send a cocky leer at Kris. "Are you sure you two aren't a couple?"

A bright shade of red slowly crept on Kris's face.

"I mean," Vayne continued with the sly smile on his face growing. "You two argue like a seasoned couple, you two seem to balance each other out, and…"

"If you value your fingers," Kris growled cracking her knuckles. "I suggest you shut your yap on the subject."

"… Very well," Vayne chuckled with a shake of his head. '_Hmm… I was wondering what she thought about him. And that little threat tells me a little something… Still, I'll just keep quiet on this matter. Not like it affects me.'_

"Anyway, he wasn't in that alley," Kris muttered turning away from Vayne. "So, you have any idea where he could go?"

"Hmm…" Vayne muttered his chin rubbing. "Well… If you were a trouble maker like Lee…"

"Who?" Kris asked with a large question mark appearing over her head.

"Oh, I figured you knew the name for Miles's Riolu," Vayne answered with a shrug. "Oh well… I guess it doesn't matter at the moment. But anyway, if you were a little thief where would you go?"

**0-0-0-0**

"GANG WAY!"

With the crowds of people stepping to the side of the sidewalk, Miles rushed on the sidewalk, trying to make sure that no one would halt his fleeing. Thankfully, thanks to several years of soccer practice back in the Honen Region, Miles was more than capable of sidestepping and dodging without slowing down.

The same could not be said about Zane.

"Oof!" Zane coughed as someone slammed his shoulder into his face.

"Watch where you're going shorty!"

"Grr…" Zane snarled before he continued his chase. "Damn it! I'm not short!"

'_Great, now he's mad!_' Miles thought as he turned the corner, making sure he had Lee under one arm, and the bottle of Rare Candies in the other. '_I need to think of a way to get him off of my back.'_

"-_Hey Miles! Why we running?-_" Lee asked almost innocently, and yet he had that sly look on his face.

"Shut up!" Miles snarled narrowing his eyes down at Lee while ducking to the right in order to dodge another bystander. "We're in this because of you!"

"_-I think that's a rash judgment call,-_" Lee pointed out with a shrug.

"How in the…" Miles started with a shake of his head. '_Not like anyone actually answers that question.'_

Making another turn, Miles was unaware that someone stood just in front of him, knocking him backwards and to the ground, "URK!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry 'bout that kid."

Miles shook his head and looked up to see that he was being looked down by rugged greasy black haired man dressed in a ragged trench coat. "You ain't hurt now are ya?"

"N-No, I'm okay," Miles coughed out before he jumped to his feet. "I'd love to talk, but I gotta go!"

And with that Miles ran off, with Lee yelping all the way.

The man just watched in confusion as Miles continued through the streets, rubbing the side of his head in wonder.

"HEY! Stop that kid!"

Tilting his head backwards, the trench-coat dressed man spied Zane running towards the corner, pushing people who were several times his size to the side,

Then a small thought popped in the man's head, prompting him to stick out his foot slightly.

"Stop that…" Zane shouted before… "AAAAH!"

Zane fell flat on his face into the concrete. "Ow…"

"Don't worry man," the trench-coat man stated saluting towards the fallen Kane. "I'll continue the pursuit!"

"Thank you…" Zane mumbled with his face still on the concrete before the trench-coat wearing ran off. '_I'm glad that civilians are so easily duped…'_

Unfortunately, Zane didn't really consider the other aspect of civilians, mostly about how a lot of them didn't even notice that he was face down on the concrete.

So as one could imagine, he was immediately trampled by several people, "ACK! HEY! WHY WOULD YOU WEAR CLEATS!?!"

**0-0-0-0**

_Time: 2:19 p.m._

_Location: Gardner City,_

_Gardner City Park,_

_Fountain Area _

"Dang, I didn't think it'd be this hard," Vayne sighed taking a seat at the rim of the fountain with his glasses pulled down slightly. "But then again, we're thinking like a fighting type pokemon that might just be a kleptomaniac."

"That's an understatement," Kris said, taking a moment to remember the small stories that Miles told her about Lee's nasty little habit. "It's odd, but it doesn't seem too farfetched to hear of a klepto pokemon…"

"Even if it is a fighting type?" Vayne countered with a shrug. "I've heard of dark type pokemon like Murkrow and Sneasel being like that, but other pokemon like that are kind of a rarity unless they have the move Thief or the pick up trait."

"You certainly know your pokemon moves," Kris commented raising an eyebrow at the wannabe musician.

"Well, my old man happens to be a professor," Vayne sighed looking up into the sky with a scowl appearing on his normally calm face. "I'm bound to know a few things about pokemon after all. He used to jaw about them all the time much to my displeasure."

"Trouble in paradise?" Kris snickered.

"I could ask the same of you," Vayne retorted.

Meanwhile, in a deeper part of the forested area of the park…

"Gah!"

Plopping down on the grassy ground, Miles tossed the bottle of Rare Candies and Lee to the ground softly in order to catch his breath. "Dang it… I've never thought that I'd see that jerk again."

Picking up the small bottle, Lee slowly turned around with a confused look on his face, "-_So… That guy an old friend of yours or something?-"_

"Are you serious?" Miles groaned with a slap to his forehead. "You seriously can't remember the first day you came into this world?"

"_-Do you remember yours?-_" the smart-aleck Riolu retorted sitting across from Miles.

"That's beside the point," the forced trainer moaned with his eyes narrowed. "Even if you don't remember, I do. He and that big lug he was with tried to steal you when you were still an egg. When I heard there voices, I froze up, I knew I heard them before, and from seeing those two act like that, I was certain… Those two are definitely from…"

"Team Atmos?"

"What?" Miles questioned blinking a few times at Lee. "No, Team Atmos dressed in white, these guys were dressed in purple cloaks with…"

Then it sunk in.

"… Lee… Tell me you learned English in the last half-hour," Miles gulped with a cold sweat rolling down his head.

Lee merely shook his head and turned his attention to the large shadow that appeared behind Miles. "I've known English almost all my life," the shadow dressed in a tattered trench-coat explained with his arms crossed. "But back to what you were saying… You said two people were trying to do what now?"

"Uh…" Miles gaped as he slowly turned his head.

**0-0-0-0**

"Seriously," Zane groaned as he pushed himself off the ground, using the park's fountain as a makeshift crutch. "Who wears steel toed boots in a city based around flowers?!"

With Miles's trail gone cold, Zane managed to drag himself to the park (quite literally actually since a lot of people failed to realize that he was being used as a makeshift doormat) in a vain attempt to continue his pursuit.

Not like he had anything else to do.

'_Maybe I should've tried the hospital…_' Zane thought taking a seat at the fountain's edge. '_After all, when Turner gets his nerves in order, he'll more than likely send me there… So I might as well save a few bucks and get it all in one visit.'_

"Zane? Ah! That's where ya went!"

In addition to physical pain, Zane now had a huge migraine to deal with… A migraine named Chase.

"No luck with the kid?" Chase asked walking up to Zane with a smirk on his broad face.

"Shut up…" Zane grumbled lowering his head a little more.

"Hey, cheer up," Chase suggested with a large smile on his face. "Turner woke up!"

"WHAT?!" Zane yelled.

Slowly walking out from behind the larger man was none other than the finally suited Turner, his sunglasses, hair and suit slightly dis-shelved.

'_I thought I would at least have a few hours to live…'_ Zane thought before he shakily stood up to greet his higher up. "Um… How are you doing sir?"

Turner slowly turned his eyes toward Zane, slowly pulling his sunglasses down to reveal his sharp eyes, "… I want some pancakes."

"Eh?" Zane questioned with a few question marks popping over his head.

"You smelled me," Turner continued scolding Zane with a wag of his finger. "Mesh wants Jalapeño Poppers!"

…

"Chase… Did you drop Turner on his head?" Zane asked with a dulled look appearing on his face.

"Nah, I was careful," Chase answered with his arms crossed. "I'm ashamed that you think that I would do such a thing. I try to pride myself on not screwing up when it comes to my strength."

"Too bad you couldn't have trained your mind in the process," Zane retorted.

"Look at the colors," Turner cooed looking at the fountain's water spout.

"You think we should get him to a hospital?" Chase asked rubbing the back of his head. "I was thinking about doing that, but then I realized that I don't know the code to our emergency funds."

"… I wrote that down for you!" Zane growled with his eyes rolling. "Never mind, we've got bigger problems to deal with. Like for example we have to find that little runt."

"Ya know, that's kinda weird hearing you say that," Chase muttered rolling his eyes.

"You two guys!" Turner announced getting the two grunts' attentions. "Grab a flagpole, a clown and a yellow submarine and meet me at Denny's in twenty minutes."

"… What kind of drugs were in those tranquilizers?" Zane thought out loud with a dulled look appearing on his face.

"Now how in the world are we supposed to get those things to a Denny's?" Chase asked out loud with his hand at his chin in deep thought. "Well, I suppose we could put the clown and flagpole in the yellow submarine… But that's still a lot to carry with only two people."

"Shut up!" Zane snarled throwing his arm to the side. "He's not right in the head for the moment, and we've got to find that little runt…"

"Excuse me, but is this the runt you were looking for?"

Zane and Chase turned to the side (Turner on the other hand was more interested in an imaginary fish that he saw in the fountain) to see the familiar trench-coat wearing man was standing in front of them.

But that didn't interest them.

It was the fact that the man had Miles lifted up by the back of his collar that got their attention… And the bottle of rare candies in the other hand.

Chase and Zane's faces had tears running down the sides, "We succeeded!"

"Hooray!" Turner giggled like a goon.

"We can't tell you how grateful we are!" Zane announced rubbing some tears from his eyes. "This little runt had his pokemon steal those rare candies from us! And we've been wanting to get those back for some time now…"

"Really?" the trench-coat wearing man questioned looking down at Miles who smiled sheepishly. "That's weird… Why would you two gents, and loon, have this many Rare Candies on ya?"

"The reason doesn't matter," Zane replied with his arms crossed. "But once again I would like you to hand them and the kid over please."

"But, I thought the reason did matter," Chase started with a confused look appearing on his face. "I mean, wasn't that a part of that plan that Turner…"

BAM!

"URK!" Chase gagged as he doubled over from Zane's fist being slammed into his stomach. "D-Did you have to do that?"

"Hush you!" Zane snarled with his eyes narrowed down at the doubled over Chase.

"… Hmm… I wonder," The trenchcoat wearing man mused as he slowly lowered Miles to the ground with a wink. "If you're so violent, I wonder if it's wise to hand this kid over to you."

"Are you trying to suggest something?" Zane grumbled with his arms crossed. "Cause as the fact of the matter stands, that runt still took our property and I demand that he return it!"

"Alright…" the trench-coat man finally admitted lowering Miles to the ground. "Can I say one more thing?"

"… Sure…" Zane growled.

"You three are under arrest," the trench-coat man started as he flicked a small silver badge from his overcoat, the item gleaming in the light.

"T-That badge!" Zane gasped taking a step back. "You… You can't be…"

"Oooh, shiny," Turner cooed with some drool seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"You're right, it is shiny," Chase added as he stood up straight. "But… Zane, what's your deal?" 

"Are you daft man?!" Zane shouted with his arms flailing in the air. "This guy's a member of the Saora National Assault Police Force Unit (or SNAP-FU for short)! And not just any member! This is Vincent Greaves, the Head Detective to the Select Corps! These guys and what organization we're a part of don't really get along with each other…"

Vincent chuckled as he pocketed his badge and pulled out a few pairs of handcuffs, "Glad to know that the Venomous Fang Order likes to keep tags on their enemies," He stated before he turned towards Miles. "And I guess they'll have to keep tabs on this little guy now… But, you three are going to be locked up for a long time."

"You think we're really going to give up without a fight?!" Zane roared reaching for his belt and immediately tossed a pair of pokeballs into the air. "I sure as hell ain't going to!

"Skorupi! Seviper!"

From the two orbs, the two same pokemon that Zane had used on the very day Lee was hatched appeared in front of both Miles and Vincent. The poisonous viper hissed loudly as the scorpion pokemon clamped his claws a few times.

"I don't want to be behind bars either!" Chase yelped loudly too holding up two pokeballs as well, and immediately threw them into air over his head.

"Beedrill! Grimer! Showtime!"

In another pair of bright lights, the large bee pokemon with three stingers flew over the park area while on the ground was a large blob of a pokemon that was created completely out of purple slime.

"Now kid!" Vincent shouted throwing his hand up.

"Lee! Flay!" Miles commanded as two blurs erupted from the nearby bushes, their tails glowing brightly. "Iron Tail!"

"Huh?" Zane and Chase stated before the small Riolu and Poochyena appeared before them, spinning around to slam their tails directly into the chests of the two operatives of the Venomous Fang Order. "ACK!"

The force sent the two grunts flying into the fountain with two large splashes, allowing Flay and Lee to land on the ground, both of them striking dramatic poses, "_-You were right Lee dood! That was awesome!-_"

"-_Gets better every time, my friend!-_" Lee laughed as the four called out pokemon rushed to their trainers' sides.

"Now are ya glad you followed my plan?" Vincent asked as the four pokemon began to pull their trainers from the fountain.

"Well… Don't you have your own pokemon?" Miles asked with a sweatdrop. "And I thought it was kinda illegal…"

"Only if you don't have a license or have permission from an officer of my status," Vincent replied pulling out his own pokeball from the back of his belt. "Now then, I think it's time we finished this… I've got some questions for these three…"

"Unfortunately for you… This battle hasn't even started yet…"

Vincent, Miles, Lee and Flay turned towards the side, seeing Turner pulling down his glasses as he lifted up his pokeball. "And you two just dug your own graves…"

**0-0-0-0**

**Lee:** -_Man! How many times do we have to knock these guys down till they stay down?!_-

**Vincent:** I don't know what you just said, but we will prevail! We have justice on our side!

**Miles:** … This guy kinda reminds me of Cruz…

**Turner:** I'm going to make you eat your words… You two!

**Zane and Chase:** Y-Yes sir!

**Turner:** Prepare… The… TUNA!

**Zane:** … Looks like the tranquilizer's still having an effect on him…

_**Next time: **__**Chapter 19: Floral Paradise Lost**_


	19. Chapter 19: Floral Paradise Lost

_**Chapter 19**_

_**Floral Paradise Lost**_

_**0-0-0-0**_

"_Lee! Flay!" Miles commanded as two blurs erupted from the nearby bushes, their tails glowing brightly. "Iron Tail!"_

"_Huh?" Zane and Chase stated before the small Riolu and Poochyena appeared before them, spinning around to slam their tails directly into the chests of the two operatives of the Venomous Fang Order. "ACK!"_

_The force sent the two grunts flying into the fountain with two large splashes, allowing Flay and Lee to land on the ground, both of them striking dramatic poses, "-You were right Lee dood! That was awesome!-"_

"_-Gets better every time, my friend!-" Lee laughed as the four called out pokemon rushed to their trainers' sides._

"_Now are ya glad you followed my plan?" Vincent asked as the four pokemon began to pull their trainers from the fountain._

"_Well… Don't you have your own pokemon?" Miles asked with a sweatdrop. "And I thought it was kinda illegal…"_

"_Only if you don't have a license or have permission from an officer of my status," Vincent replied pulling out his own pokeball from the back of his belt. "Now then, I think it's time we finished this… I've got some questions for these three…"_

"_Unfortunately for you… This battle hasn't even started yet…"_

_Vincent, Miles, Lee and Flay turned towards the side, seeing Turner pulling down his glasses as he lifted up his pokeball. "And you two just dug your own graves…"_

There was an odd silence as Turner glared at Miles and Vincent… His jaw clenched tightly when he noticed that the Seviper, Skorupi, Beedrill and Grimer were helping their trainers (Zane and Chase) out of the fountain. "… Fools…"

Miles was frozen stiff.

Sure, this wasn't the first time he'd felt fear… But this was different… It was almost as if this glasses wearing, white haired man was dripping with venom from his very eyes – And it seeping directly into Miles' very soul, causing him to gulp in fear…

But, it seemed that whatever was plaguing Miles had no effect on Vincent. "So… When'd you get up?"

"I was drugged and dragged here apparently," Turner answered rubbing the back of his head, ignoring the question completely. "I just woke up when some water splashed on my face… And what do I find when I wake up?

"A pair of losers and a pair of morons duking it out while I'm dreaming of French toast."

And just like that, the poisonous aura that this man was giving off was gone and Miles couldn't help but sweat drop. "Uh… Vincent, who is this joker?"

'… _Joker?'_ Turner thought with a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head.

"From the reports, I'd wager my badge that he's Admin Turner of the Venomous Fang Order," Vincent answered with his eyes narrowed. "One of the top three trainers to be precise, right after the boss himself."

"Oh, so you know?" Turner cackled tossing the pokeball that he had up and down a few times. "Then you know of my track record then… I haven't been beaten by anyone other than the boss himself since I joined the Order. After all, I am top admin…"

"Indeed, I did know that," Vincent answered holding his left hand up, allowing a small cybernetic bar to erupt from his sleeve. Holding the bar in his hand, Vincent flicked a switch on it, creating a holographic screen to appear in front of his face, Turner's picture flashing on the screen along with a large amount of data scrolling down the electronic page.

"In fact, I've got a file for all three of you Admins."

Turner scowled.

Then with a snap of his fingers, Chase and Zane stepped behind him, their four pokemon appearing behind them. "Chase. Zane. You deal with the runt and his little annoying furballs…"

"_-Hey! I take offense to that!-_" Lee barked with a blood vessel appearing on the side of his head.

"_-Ya gotta learn to chill out, dood,-_" Flay yawned scratching his snout with the end of his paw. "-_Don't let every little comment get you out of shape… Dood.-_"

'… _Personally, I'm not really sure what to make of these two…'_ Miles thought with a sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head as Vincent and Turner walked over to the side.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Chase and Zane shouted with a salute, their pokemon imitating them.

"Miles," Vincent said clenching the pokeball in his grip. "Can you handle dumb and dumber over there by yourself?"

"HEY!"

"… Well, I was lucky the first time," Miles muttered with a cold sweat appearing on the side of his head.

"_-And we can beat them again!-_" Leo roared holding his paws up into a martial art stance that looked sort of like the double knife stance… Only the Riolu's tail was curled behind his head to act as a third fist. "-_Look alive Miles!-_"

Miles couldn't help but blink a few times at his pokemon, "… Sometimes I wonder who the trainer is and who's supposed to be the trainee…"

"Zane… Ya wanna tag team this runt?" Chase asked cracking his knuckles a few times.

"Hmm, an interesting proposal," Zane muttered rolling his eyes. "Especially since you were the one who came up with the idea… But, this suit is a rental…

"And I just lost the deposit!"

Zane threw his hand up into the air, making his Seviper and Skorupi charge from behind him, "So I call dibs on him first! Seviper - Poison Tail! Skorupi – Vicegrip!"

Both poison type pokemon seemed to cackle before both of them shot forward at surprising speeds, both of them charging their attacks. The Seviper's tail-blade glowed a deadly light purple as he spun around while Skorupi's two pincers glowed a bright white color, both attacks aiming towards both of Miles' unleashed pokemon.

"Ur… Lee!" Miles blurted out snapping his arm to the side. "Force Palm! Flay! Iron Tail!"

"_-I was hoping you'd say that!-_"

"-_You got it dood!-_"

Lee charged towards the scorpion pokemon, both of his paws basking in a blue energy slamming both of the paws into the glowing pincers, both pokemon in a dead lock as they both tried to push the other back in order to land their attack successfully.

Unlike his fighting peer, Flay simply turned around to slam his glowing tail into Seviper's tail-blade, effectively blocking the attack, making both pokemon snarl and hiss loudly at each other.

Neither of the pair were willing to surrender…

"Hey… What am I supposed to do then?" Chase asked turning towards his two pokemon… Who only shrugged back in confusion.

Two flashes of light flew through the air, crashing in between both as the light began to build up.

"You're quite famous as well, Vincent," Turner chuckled as the light in front of him shot into the air, turning into a large bird like figure. "After all, I keep tabs on the big four in our country, especially those who happen to have a job on the side with the police…"

The light in front of Turner dripped to the ground to form into a rather large black bird that was almost three feet tall with red feathers at its white tail and under wings while underneath its straight yellow beak was a large feathery collar that gave the bird a beard like look and had a feather crest that resembled that of a fedora hat.

And with a loud screech, the bird landed atop of Turner's shoulder. "Isn't that right, Honchkrow?"

Shaking his head, Vincent could only smirk as the light began to form into an extremely large, dark-gray dinosaur that had resemblance to a raptor with several blue stripes racing down it's body. Around the dino's neck was a large blue collar that had two spikes on it and on its head were spikes on its dome-shaped head.

With its red eyes narrowed, the raptor roared loudly. "I dunno," Vincent chuckled. "Rampardos thinks that right now… I'm an ordinary trainer about to kick some tail."

"Tough guy, eh?" Turner commented throwing his hand up high into the air, making Honchkrow fly off his arm like a bullet from a guy. "We'll see how tough you are after this! Steel Wing!"

Both Rampardos and Vincent growled loudly as the large dark bird pokemon flew towards the two, it's two wings glowing with a silver light from the feathers reflecting the sunlight "Toughness has nothing to do with it! We're head strong!

"Head Smash!"

Then, using it's powerful legs, the dinosaur launched itself into the air like a rocket flinging right at the large crow monster…

CLANK!

Both attacks collided with each other, and time almost stood still, sparks flying from the Honchkrow's wings and Rampardos' domed head, neither of the two releasing their attacks.

Then time returned to normal having both pokemon fly past each other, with the crow diving towards the ground with the raptor sailing high into the air.

"Honchkrow!" Turner commanded as the black bird narrowly missed the ground and flew back into the air.

"Rampardos!" Vincent shouted when the raptor whipped its tail around in order to spin back through the air.

"Dark Pulse!"

"Thunderbolt!"

Dark and electrical energy flew through the air, crashing into each other in mid-air, the energy surging about and crashing into the ground causing large amount of explosions that scared most of the people who had gathered at the battle sight, but the combined energy grew too much and exploded into a large cloud of smoke and dust that soared high into the sky.

"Wow…" Miles admitted.

"Wow…" Zane gasped.

"… Killer light show, man," Chase chuckled lifting up a lighter into the air. "Now all we need is some KISS music and we're all good!"

"-_Hey Miles,-_" Lee asked while still pushing against the Skorupi's Vicegrip attack. "-_W-What's KISS?-_"

"… It was a band from a long time ago," Miles answered quickly before he snapped his fingers. "But enough of make-up wearing Rock-stars, use Iron Tail while the shorty is distracted!"

"I'M NOT SHORT!!!"

WHAM!

Unfortunately, that was enough of a distraction to allow Lee to leap backwards, allowing his silver hued tail to slam the scorpion right between the eyes, sending it skidding backwards.

"-_Boo-Ya!-_" Lee barked pumping his arms up into the air. "-_I rock and roll!-_"

Miles wasn't even going to waste his breath.

However, that gave Zane an opening, "Seviper! Bite attack!"

Flay's eyes widened as the poisonous viper snapped its head right for the dark pup, its red fangs gleaming brightly as it brought the fangs down on the Poochyena's back…

"Quick Attack!"

… Until Lee slammed his foot directly into the side of Seviper's head, sending the viper flying through the air to the side of the battle field.

"-_Whoa… Thanks, dood,-_" Flay chuckled with a gleeful look on his face.

"-_Hey, no worries!-_" Lee laughed with his paws at his hips. "-_I'll have your back!-_"

If anyone else could understand Lee, then what happened next could've been accompanied by the line 'But who's watching your back?' The moment that Lee finished barking, the large three needled Beedrill flew behind the fighting pokemon…

"Twin Needle!"

Time seemed to slow down as the two needles jutted towards Lee who began to turn around with his eyes widening…

"Roll out!"

… To see a large sandy brown rolling orb crash into the Beedrill, sending it through the air.

The orb spun around Lee and Flay, making Miles blink a few times until the orb uncurled into a familiar shrew like pokemon, "Sand!"

"A Sandshrew?" Miles questioned as the Beedrill and Grimer helped Seviper and Skorupi up.

And with a casual shrug, the Sandshrew wagged his tail in a disapproving manner at Miles, "… I think I know who owns this Sandshrew…"

"Herr Miles!"

"Great… I was right," Miles mumbled under his breath as he turned towards the other side of the nearby fountain.

And there stood none other than Vayne with Kris standing right behind him, and with his Mudkip, Daigo, resting on his shoulder. "About time we found ya!"

"… He was right behind the fountain," Kris growled as the two ran up next to Miles. "How long were you here?"

"Uh… Five, ten minutes?" Miles guessed with a shrug of his shoulders.

"… Idiot…"Kris spat.

With his Honchkrow landing on his arm, Turner scoffed to the side with a roll of his eyes, "Great, more roaches join the fray… Just what we didn't need."

Rampardos snarled as Vincent pumped his fist in front of his face, "The same could be said about your group…" The detective retorted. "You guys are always recruiting and placing your grunts all over the place, I wouldn't be surprised if you got this entire city crawling with your filth."

Turner furrowed his brow.

He wasn't going to admit it to this flatfoot, but Vincent was right. Thanks to the recent events that were plaguing Gardner City, the shadows of the Venomous Fang Order were starting to wrap around the city's lifelines in order to choke out the vermin of Team Atmos.

But, it was highly unlikely that Vincent would know this, and Turner had no intention of alerting the detective to these facts.

"Enough talk," Turner yelled as Honchkrow flew off his arm, its wide wings glowing brightly. "Steel Wing!"

"Again?" Vincent questioned before the raptor ran forward, its head lowered to slam it into the black bird. "You'll just get the same result! Head Smash!"

Back with the main group… 

"Wow, looks like you're getting quite popular, Herr Miles," Vayne chuckled slapping his hand against Miles' back a few times.

"Yeah, too bad its with crazy guys and people who want to kill me," Miles sighed before he took a side glance at Kris. '_And I think I know which one she falls under…'_

"What?" Kris spat out taking note that Miles was looking at her.

"Hey!" Chase shouted getting the three teens' attentions. "Evil people here who want to rip you to shreds! We're not going to go away if you just ignore us!"

"… Trust me," Zane advised rolling his eyes. "I've tried ignoring the big guy here on several occasions… But he just keeps coming back even stupider than before."

"Heh! You better believe it!" Chase cackled with a few slams to his chest…

… Until it sunk it. "Hey!" Chase yelped narrowing his eyes at Zane. "Was that a shot?"

"What do you think?" Zane retorted throwing his hand up into the air.

"Hmm… These two guys aren't too smart, Herr Miles," Vayne chuckled running a hand through his hair. "And you're having trouble with them? Herr Muscle and Herr Klein over there stronger than they look?"

"I don't think I was having trouble," Miles mumbled rolling his eyes. "Besides, its not like I was going to lose to these losers, I managed to beat the short one before."

"S-Short?!?!" Zane snarled with a dark aura appearing over his body, making his Seviper and Skorupi stagger away from their trainer. "SHORTY!?!"

"… Someone's a bit touchy about their height," Kris snickered with a cocky smirk on her face.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN ANT THAT'S ONLY DESTINED TO BE CRUSHED UNDERNEATH YOUR SHOE!?!" Zane roared, even making Turner and Vincent stop their own battle to look at the short Venomous Fang Order grunt.

"Nobody said anything like that," Miles pointed out.

"_-I like this guy,-_" Lee chuckled adjusting his red scarf. "_-He's just as fun to mess with as Miles.-_"

"LIKE I GIVE A RIP!" Zane snarled throwing his arm to the side. "Skorupi! Seviper! Operation plan Vega!"

Taking a moment to look at each other, the two poison pokemon nodded towards each other before they shot across the field at once.

"Lee! Flay!" Miles yelped as both of his pokemon leapt back into their fighting stances, just as Seviper and Skorupi were about to charge them…

… Only to blink in confusion as the two pokemon sped past the two of them… They weren't aiming for the pokemon, they had set their sights on Miles himself!

"Herr Sandshrew! Herr Daigo!" Vayne shouted as the two poison pokemon were getting closer and closer to the trainers, prompting the Mudkip and Sandshrew to leap off the Vayne's shoulder and ground (respectively) at the two attacking pokemon…

"Don't think so!" Chase shouted as the Beedrill and Grimer slammed into both of Vayne's pokemon, making the Rockstar like trainer chase after his pokemon.

But that still left Miles with a problem of his own to deal with, a pair of problems actually, with the Seviper and Skorupi leaping up into the air in front of Miles.

"_-Miles!-_" Lee shouted turning about face.

"_-Dood!-_" Flay barked as well.

'… _This will sting…'_ Miles thought, about to run, but his legs were frozen…

… No one noticed that Kris had already reached for the back of her belt, a small click popping from her hand as she prepared to throw the item she just drew…

**0-0-0-0**

**Lux-Nero:** Heh… I love cliff hangers.

**Lee:**_ -… Who the hell are you?-_

**Lux-Nero:** I'm the author…

**Lee:** _-What's an author?-_

**Lux-Nero:** Um… '_Damn it, I've already broken the fourth wall by being here, but if I give him a straight answer, I'll get into deeper trouble!'_

**Lee:** _-Is it something you can eat?-_

**Lux-Nero:** … Do I look edible to you?

_**Will Lux-Nero break the fourth wall in the story line? Will Lee become an 'author'? Find out next time on Lux-Lee: The Masterful Master of Mastering the Masterful Art of Mastering Writing – Final Episode: **__**The Masterful Master**_

**Lee:** -_W-Whoa… I'm all dizzy…-_

**Next time: **

_**Chapter 20: Revelations On The Battle Field?**_

**Lux-Nero:** Anyway, sorry about the short chapter, but for the next chapter, you will all be amazed by the three simultaneous battles, each of them with their own twists and turns!

**Lee:** _-… Sweet!-_


End file.
